Orbit
by MusicWriter
Summary: When Jake and Nessie get engaged, the Quiluets meet someone who will change the world as they know it, Seth's imprint runs away, and the Volturi become more difficult, what will the Cullens and the pack do? Post Breaking Dawn
1. Preface: Torn

**Disclaimer: I would try... but really... who wants to own the Volturi? And you have to take all of them, or none. So, sadly, I don't own Twilight. Sigh. Stephenie Meyer does.**

Preface:

"Bella..." I started. How was I supposed to say this? Bella, when you fell in love with Edward, was it sudden, and had you only said two words to him? Yeah, right. How could I broach the subject that had been controlling my every thought for months? I didn't know why I couldn't forget this one boy. Was I going insane? I could feel something tugging me toward him. He looked perfect to me. I didn't know him, yet nothing mattered anymore but him. I would face all of the Volturi, standing alone, if it meant it would keep him safe. How could that be?

I was dangerously close to walking out of Bella's shield, just to draw the Volturi near, so we could settle this once and for all. If I went to La Push, I might be able to find him, I'd be able to touch him. He would be right there, in my reach, so close. My heart burned with the thought of how my cold touch would make him flinch away, how my smell would burn his nose, how my unnaturally hard skin would appall him, and how my thirst for blood would drive him away from me. And the worst part; that if he didn't shy away from me, I could kill him. I wasn't safe for him. My control wouldn't ever be good enough to comfort me, because he was too perfect to risk.

And it didn't matter that I was putting them all in danger, it didn't matter that a clan of royal vampires insisted on owning me, it didn't matter that I was thirsty, and it didn't matter that they had killed my mom. My eyes pricked strangely, and I found that my small, useless life was flashing before my eyes. How depressing. An end wasn't coming anytime soon. I had no such luck.

I was in love with the most perfect, sweet, innocent person alive... I could see it in his eyes... and I wasn't a person.


	2. Chap 1 Talk Now!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Sigh. I am not genius enough to come up with a world so awesome.**

EDWARD CULLEN

"Nessie? Nessie? Renesmee, honey, wake up sweetheart." Her mind was curiously blank when she was dreaming, I noted, it was oddly a relief. I'd heard too much from her thoughts lately.

Life was a repetitive happiness, which hadn't been broken in six and a half years. Bella was now a part of the Cullen family, which meant that the odd aura of emptiness that used to hover over Carlisle's house when she wasn't there was gone. We spent almost every day there - though we still needed the full night to ourselves. Nessie was always safe and happy, and the fear of Bella's human fragility didn't exist anymore. No knife was being held over my happiness' head. I was even enjoying Jacob, until just recently.

You see, Nessie had been hit with a boatload of hormones about a week ago, and it affected the way she sees a lot of things . . . especially Jacob. Jacob isn't oblivious to this fact, and he started to see things in Nessie also.

It would be aggravating enough, if someone whom I live in close proximity to, was going through something like this, but the fact that it was my own daughter- that pushed it too far. I was about ready to pull my hair out. Mind-reading certainly had its downers.

"Nessie, sweetie?" I asked again, a little louder. Bella and I had let her sleep in, giving Alice free reign in preparing Nessie's party... at least until we got over there to supervise. Alice had been given ground rules, so things probably wouldn't get out of hand too much... but Alice is Alice.

"Daddy..." my little angel said groggily. Well... not my little angel.

Nessie was curled up on her side on the bed, breathing softly. Her face was longer than it had been before, and it held more character and less innocence. The soft pink lips that were stretched in a yawn were a bit uneven, like Bella's, and the bronze curls that framed her face lie smooth against the pillow like waves. My daughter was gorgeous. She was about Alice's size, but I could no longer call her small. Nessie's body was one of a young woman's, and the way she held herself made that obvious also. Her delicate, sweet fingers grasped the edge of the comforter lightly, and, as I was looking at them, lifted up into the air in a stretch.

Nessie sleepily glanced over at the clock.

"Oh! I slept in way too long! We were supposed to go over to Grandpa's today weren't we? Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, wide-awake now.

"It's okay. You were tired. We won't be late,"

_Oh, today's my birthday! I'm having my party today! Jacob is going to be there isn't he?? Of course! He has to be there! What am I thinking? Don't answer that, Dad. I wish we could have the party be just Jake and I. Maybe at his house. Then we'd finally be alone..._

She stopped that thought as soon as she had started it and didn't give it any attention. She was very scatterbrained today. As soon as she had thought Jacob's name it had opened the floodgate inside her head, the burning affection in her thoughts returned, and she worked very hard at hiding it.

"Dad, can I have a little privacy to change?" she asked.

"Of course," I said, offended that she questioned me like that.

_Mentally, too?_ she thought.

It was less of a shocker this time, and I knew she just wanted mental privacy so she could think about Jacob, but I eagerly agreed, walking out of her room.

I headed for the library, searching for the only presence that would soothe me right now. And sure enough, as soon as I turned the corner, I saw her face and forgot everything. My angel was standing there. Her eyes trained to a book in her hands. Even though she had it memorized, Romeo and Juliet was the latest book she was reading. A romantic through-and-through. Her wavy brown hair fell on her face, a beautiful contrast to the pale-white of her skin. Even after her first life was over, her eyes still held innocence, and her smile was still kind. What had I done to deserve such a person as this? I still do not know.

My Bella looked up from her book, and in a split second, as soon as she saw my expression, she had my face in her hands, comforting me.

"Nessie, again?" she guessed.

"Yeah." I said, sighing.

She stood up on her toes to kiss me, and soon we were both gasping for air. I didn't know how long she would enjoy doing that, but as long as she wanted to kiss me, I would gladly take it. Nothing in the world felt better than that . . . well . . . almost nothing.

"It won't last long, Edward. I know it won't. She's stubborn like me. If she wants something, it's going to come to light." She said, stroking my face.

She tried to kiss me again, but we both pulled away when we heard soft footsteps turning the corner.

_I hope I don't look bad. Maybe I should have worn that other skirt with the new shirt Alice got me. Or maybe Jake would like the dress better. What does my hair look like?? Hmm . . . Maybe I should put some make-up on . . . _I tuned her out as best I could.

All of her fussing over her appearance was making me insane. It could tell from her thoughts that the only reason she was dressing up was Jacob. . . but that was all I could tell. She was purposefully avoiding why the way she looked mattered all of a sudden, and I was trying to go along with it. I didn't think I could take another dose of her daydreams.

Bella and I arrived at the porch of Carlisle's house a few seconds before Nessie, but when she came her face was wild. She was so anxious and exited that it made her look like she was losing her mind. What was up with that?

Her thoughts circled around Jacob, and it took all of the strength I had not to scream.

_Oh! Nessie is here! I hope Alice thought to hide the . . . what am I thinking? This is Alice I'm thinking about! She wouldn't mess it up and make us look bad._

Rosalie's thoughts were self-centered as always. It was hard not to recognize them. When we lived in the same house, it always struck me how different her thoughts are from Esme's. They are like exact opposites - aside the motherly instincts.

_Ha! I can't believe Alice made us make a cake! Nessie doesn't like human food. I hope she likes it. Ha! How funny would that be? Nessie's last birthday, and she can't keep the cake down!_

Emmett's booming laughter came from the kitchen, where he was stashing the cake.

Nessie's here! Jacob thought.

"Happy birthd-" Jacob yelled. The end of the word caught in his throat and his eyes bulged.

Jacob came around the corner gleefully and stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw my daughter.

Wha- how- why- da- who- the- Holy crack!!!! Nessie is hot!!! He thought.

"Happy birhtd- to you too Jake!" Nessy joked and put her arms around his waist.

I don't know if she held on there for too long or not, I don't care, because the thoughts running through their heads were so distracting I couldn't tell. That was it. I was furious. Couldn't they at least attempt at controlling their thoughts? I was going to tell them. I couldn't handle it. I was going to get it over with and tell them how they felt about each other.

Then Bella saw the look on my face and did something unexpected. She stretched her shield over them. She looked at me pleadingly. Fine. If I couldn't hear them, they could think the most explicit things they wanted. I didn't care about that. But they were going to work this out.

_Today._

**Okay guys, what do you think? I'm not that good at writing, and please tell me if you think I need to improve on something! This is my very first fan fiction, so please review and subscribe!** **I'll probably have the next chapter (in Renesmee's point of view) out later this weekend!** **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chap 2 Birthday

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series. Stephenie Meyer does, silly!**

RENESMEE CULLEN

Dad's gaze shifted to mom, and I was thankful for whatever she did to distract him.

I looked at Jacob again, and it was easy to imagine that he loved me.

My mind was blank whenever I looked into his never-ending eyes. They looked like a dark pool. A pool that was abnormally inviting, a pool I could easily fall into if I didn't have a hold on myself. It felt like gravity was pulling me to that one point where all my troubles would be gone - a pull so strong I couldn't possibly ignore it. Heaven, though I never will see it - there are many theories about that my father believes we don't have souls, my mother believes we do - I'm pretty sure it will look a lot like Jacob Black's eyes.

I wanted him so much, with all of my heart, and all of my strength. My heart throbbed with the intensity of how I felt about him, but I was afraid he didn't want me the same way.

Today would be the day I found out.

We had arrived at Grandpa's house before everyone else got there. Connor was coming too. Both wolf packs. That meant 12 werewolves on the spot. I hoped Rosalie would keep her cool. She wasn't so happy with Jacob being around a whole lot, let alone the entire pack.

Each of the members of the pack arrived with their own snide remarks about the smell. They were happy and very enthusiastic about my birthday because they were all my friends (I'd been spending so much time in La Push I was pretty much extended family to them all), but the setting was bound to annoy them no matter how good of a mood they were in and what good terms they were on with my family.

Maddie was the prototypical bubbly cheerleader type. She was blonde and had designer clothes with perfectly white teeth, and blue eyes. She always acted happy-go-lucky, and filled conversations with her chatter. Everyone around her liked her, especially Brady.

Believe it or not, Brady was at a football game when he imprinted on Maddie. She was a cheerleader for the opposing team. They had come from a huge high school and were rich kids. Brady got a lot of grief for that one.

My father was distracted with all of their thoughts, I guess, so maybe that was why he didn't chew me out for dwelling on Jake. He had walked off, talking to Embry and Seth, so I was free to ogle Jake all I wanted.

Soon, people surrounded me. Leah, Emily, Quil, Maddie, Brady and even Rachel and Paul were hugging me, and saying cheerful happy birthdays, setting presents on the huge dining room table and complementing Alice on the decorating. I hadn't noticed a thing. The first thing I'd seen was Jacob, and I didn't pay attention to any details after that.

I managed to take my eyes off Jacob, who was taste-testing… well, devouring, and the appetizers that my family had managed to make. I had sat through hours of taste testing with Esme and Rosalie before the chicken - it was Jacob's favorite - had finally tasted right.

Alice's decorations were amazing, I realized. Alice was Alice. Silver balloons were floating everywhere and the entire house was flooded with deep blue flowers. Their petals were scattered on the present table. They were set in piles on top of dad's piano, and the kitchen table, and even on the cake. None of them were in vases, and I was confused and struck by the waste. Why hadn't anyone put them in water? A pile of silver paper plates surrounded the cake, and it was obvious that someone had watched Food Network to learn how to frost cakes. There were frosting flowers on the cake along with the real ones, and it was hard to believe someone who didn't eat had made this. Yet again, Alice made the cake. The present table was overflowing with gifts, about eight gifts in matching silver gift bags, and the rest were wrapped in paper, covered in bows and stickers. I managed to inconspicuously sneak a look at the name on the tag on one of the silver bags. Sure enough, all of my family had used identical bags… but why bags? Alice could work magic with wrapping paper.

Everyone gathered around me, and I was somehow forced to move to the present table, unwillingly. I picked up the first gift without looking at whom it was from. It wasn't in a bag, though, so it wasn't from my family. It was a department store box, and I figured it was from Maddie. She was always trying to get me to go shopping with her,

I opened up the expensive-looking box - it definitely wasn't from a department store, this was designer.

Of course, it was from Maddie, and it was clothes. I was fine with it at first. It was an unbelievably luxurious evening gown. I was cool with all the thank-you stuff, until I looked at the tag.

"You gave me a one-of-a-kind Miuccia Prada!!!!!!!!" I said, my eyes bulged out of my head, and my cheeks burned. Even Alice knew not to go that far with me. Gosh! How could she? I didn't have anything against it… it was gorgeous… but the price! Sheesh! Why spend that on me???

Maddie interpreted that as exultation and ran up to hug me.

"You're welcome! It's from Brady too!" she said. She was obviously so happy I enjoyed her gift, that I didn't say anything but a mumbled "Thanks".

I heard a muffled chuckle from the corner of the room. It was Jasper, obviously. I hissed at him and threatened, "Not a word." Under my breath. Other than Jasper, Jacob was the only one who noticed my threat.

I opened Paul and Rachel's next, and inside of it was a nice piece of jewelry. It was a gold necklace with a golden leaf on the end. It was two inches shorter than my locket, so I thanked Rachel and gave her a hug, before being crushed by Paul, and put it on right then. It was gorgeous, and I thanked her again once I had it on.

I peeked at Jake's present, but decided to save it for last. I'd open Sam and Emily's now.

I peeled back the wrapping paper to the small present and thanked them for the beautiful anklet, then moved on to the next.

Quil gave me a bracelet, and Embry gave me a gift card to a bookstore, apologizing that he didn't have a female's shopping advice. I assured him it was perfect, the poor guy. Embry's parents didn't know about the shape-shifter thing. He hadn't imprinted yet, and he was alone. At least Quil had Claire, who was now ten, and knew exactly what I liked.

Jared and Kim had given me earrings, and Leah had given me an anklet and I was growing suspicious about all of the jewelry.

I was touched with Seth's present, and ran up to hug him immediately. He had paid such close attention! It was a notebook I had been admiring in the window of a shop we passed when Jacob, Leah, Seth, and I had been walking to the big car show. (Jacob didn't want to go alone, and Seth wouldn't let him go without him. Leah came because we both wanted to go shopping if it took too long.)

It wasn't any notebook; it was a music notebook with a binding and a burgundy cover. The cover had some metallic gold writing on it. It matched my locket. It was filled with music paper, and I had wanted to get it from the second I saw it, but it wasn't in stock. He had gone back to the store to get it for me.

Leah also gave me a few hair clips with rhinestones in them; she said that with her hair having to be short for the pack, she didn't use them anymore.

I opened Connor's next, and he had gotten me a book. "Dracula". Ha ha. Connor's favorite pastime is driving me crazy, so I figured this was another one of his pranks. I thanked him kindly, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary in his box, and then moved on to the next one. He looked at me as if I was crazy, but then just shrugged and said something so low I knew I wasn't meant to hear. It sounded like something like "I'll never understand the nature of girls" or "I never planned a cool-headed curls". I couldn't decide which he really said, because "curls" is his nickname for me.

I took a deep breath, and let it all out in a huge, dramatic gust. Time to open my family's presents. I would open Jake's present second to last, because I knew, from experience, that my parents would want to go last.

Every year they got me something huge and spectacular that I had to walk somewhere to find. Last year it had been a recording studio, the year before that it was a grand piano - never mind that my dad had one, I just had to have an expensive piano I hadn't asked for. For my second birthday they got me a pony. I tried to set some ground rules after that, but really, I was the size of a five-year-old. What was I supposed to do?

I looked and, sure enough, they're gift was the smallest of all. They were going to do it again. Of course there had never been a doubt.

I picked up a large silver bag, looking to where my family stood, and toyed with it a bit, bouncing it up in down in my hand. I carefully examined each of their faces before I opened it. It was Emmett and Rosalie's. I could tell.

I pulled a large box out of the bag, and carefully removed the tissue paper slowly, watching Emmett squirm. I finally had the paper all the way off, and held it up in front of my face while closing my eyes. Emmett let out an exasperated sigh. I giggled, but it couldn't be heard behind Jacob, Quil, Embry, Paul, and Connor laughing at the same time. At least, they didn't hear it. Paul started teasing him.

"Aww… Emmett… is she teasing you?" he said, in a babyish voice.

"He ought to get a taste of his own medicine sometimes." Mom said, smiling evilly.

That annoyed me, because that sent them into another fit of laughter. Jasper, who was in a far corner for some ridiculous reason, responded to my guilty emotions by shooting an amused glance at me as I opened my eyes. I wanted to tease Emmett, but they were taking it too far, and Edward raised his eyebrow at Jasper.

"Enough." I said. I was getting mad.

The gift was a brand new camera, and it was professional, too. Cool! Now I could document all of my memories.

I thanked them both, and moved on.

Carlisle's and Esme's was next, and I smiled at them, overjoyed, as I saw their present.

Carlisle and Esme had known I had been using a computer in their house since I was born, so they had gotten me a brand-new laptop, with a mouse to match it. They were both dark blue, my favorite color.

Alice and Jasper's was next, and I picked up the bag and looked inside. A cookbook? I deliberately walked all the way across the room to hug Jasper and thank him.

"What are they keeping you all the way over here for?" I asked.

"No one's making me, I just don't enjoy watching people open presents. I had a bad experience with it once." He said, chuckling. My mom hissed. "Ask your mom about it later."

"Okay… " I said, confused. "Thanks." I said, hugging him.

I walked back to the present table to thank Alice. I thanked her, but I was confused.

"You'll see." was all she promised.

I sighed, and reached toward Jake's present.

"My dad got you something." Jacob said. "It must be special, because he wouldn't tell me what it is," he chuckled.

"Oh… which one is it Jake?" I asked, looking back and forth between two wrapped presents. One was small, and one was quite large, and the wrapping paper stretched over a design I couldn't make out.

"This one," he said, reaching over me to tap the smaller box. His arm barely brushed mine, and my heartbeat stuttered. I blushed, and my heart throbbed and burned. His skin felt so perfect. I just wanted to reach out and stroke it.

Embry, Connor, Paul, Jared, Emmett, Rosalie, and especially Jasper cracked up laughing… although Jasper had a different reason for laughing. My emotions had lurched more than my heartbeat.

Jacob's reaction was interesting though. Jake just looked at me, his eyes thick with an emotion to complicated for me to understand. His hand reached out for me, as if to embrace me, but then hit the table, grabbing the present and handing it to me gently.

"Here you go," he said, more intense than the time called for, with that same strange emotion. One of his fingers brushed my hair subtly, sending tingles down my spine, and then whipped away as he stepped back to watch me open my present.

I watched him for a second too long, and then began to peel the wrapping paper away from what seemed to be a book. The cover of the book was blocked from my sight with an envelope. I set the book on the table and opened the card. The outside of the envelope said "Nessy Cullen" in the shaky cursive handwriting that belonged to Billy Black.

_"__Nessy,_

_First of all, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for accepting our flaws so kindly, even though our instincts tell ourselves that we are enemies. Thank you for being patient with my prejudice, and for not holding it against me._

_All of us, especially me, here in La Push (The packs, the council, and our families) enjoy your presence, and feel like you are one of the tribe._

_I am very glad that Jacob found you. I haven't seen him this happy since his mother died. You are a lot like she was, and I feel like you should know more about us._

_I've given you a book of legends, hand-written by Jacob's mother. I hope you enjoy it. There isn't a person I trust more to have it, and my time is coming to an end. Thanks again._

_With love,_

_Billy"_

I had been reading the note aloud tonelessly, and didn't notice until I saw all the eyes in the room were on my cheek, that I was crying. I hastily wiped my hand across my cheek, but more hot tears came.

Jacob was by my side in an instant, asking me if I was okay. I said yes, took a deep breath, and pushed him away slowly. It took some effort to force his body away from mine, not that he resisted, but because all of the fibers in my being urged me to do otherwise.

I picked up the small leather book, and looked at the cover. The words "Sarah Black" were etched on the cover in a loose manuscript. I flipped through the pages. They were all written in that same handwriting. Jacob's mother's handwriting was always on the verge of breaking into cursive, and she wrote in a very fine, even print throughout the pages. The story of the Spirit warriors, the Third wife, the shape-shifter's entire past and more was written in this book. It was the last thing the Blacks had from Jake's mom, Billy's wife who had passed away, and Billy wanted me to have it in his old age. Not a younger member of the council, or Sam, or even Jake, but _me_.

I had started crying again, but I didn't care. I flipped through the pages, feeling the ridges the pen had made when Jacob's mom had pressed it into the page; writing down all there is or was to know about the Quileute tribe. There were stories she had heard from council members who had passed away, stories that weren't told anymore at the bonfire meetings. Hundreds of stories were in this book that I'd never even heard of. One in particular caught my eye. The title was "Things to come". Was this a prophetic story? I had to see this.

But the page after that story's end was empty. Over half the book was empty (it was very thick). I wiped my face off quickly, and then took another deep breath.

"Why is it empty, Jake?" I asked, confused.

"I think my dad… I think he intends for you to continue the tradition," he said. He was looking past me, most likely seeing the memories that were tied to this book. That touched me even more.

Part of me wanted Jake to be able to have it. It was obviously very important to him, and the look on his face right now told me he had not been in on the gift. I wondered if he was upset about his father giving it to me, or if it was the fact that his father's time was almost up that saddened him.

I just looked at him, still confused.

"He wants you to finish what my mom started," Jake said, almost inaudibly.

"She has _the_ book?" Seth asked, his jaw wide open. "The one with the legends Old Quil's father used to tell? The forgotten ones?"

"Oh my gosh. She's the one dad chose!" Rachel exclaimed.

"You do know what this means, don't you? You will be part of the council. When Billy dies, you will be as much of an authority as Jake will, Nessy. I can't believe it!" Embry yelled. "_My_ friends the tribe leaders! Hah!"

My family stared in wonder as the packs surrounded me, hugging me, and congratulating me.

"I'm glad he gave it to you. He's smart. You are the right choice." Sam said, hugging me.

Embry kept hugging me, and was more enthusiastic than the rest, because we were friends. There was a strange sense of comradery between Embry and me. He was, truly, my best friend.

"It looks like I have some work to do." I said, after they had finished congratulating me.

I picked up Jake's present and started pulling back the wrapping paper. I gasped as I saw the design only hinted at before.

A wolf was carved into the surface of a wooden jewelry box. I quickly tore off the rest of the wrapping paper. There were roses carved in the side, and the front of it had "Nessy" carved in it.

"Billy taught me how to carve a long time ago, before you were born. It took a really long time to make, but it was worth it." Jacob said, walking up behind me and touching the top of the box briefly.

"You made this?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah," he said, letting his fingers touch the edge of the table beside mine.

"It's beautiful. Thank you." I said, contemplating touching his hand. No, I decided, that wouldn't be a good idea right now. My heartbeat would give me away.

"You're welcome. Like I said, it was worth it," he said, stepping back.

My parents stepped toward me.

I sighed and reached my hands into the bag. I dug for a while, and then my fingers grasped a loop. I pulled it out of the bag. Car keys. I smiled at them brightly.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"The garage." Dad said, smiling mischievously.

Jacob stepped towards me, his mouth gaping wide, and he touched the key.

"It's an Audi!" he rejoiced, looking more pleased than a little boy on Christmas. I giggled. No doubt Jake would be begging to drive my car. I tried to suppress the pleasing feeling I had when I pictured Jacob on his knees, because I knew I was imagining him asking for something else.

As expected, all of the guys in both packs sprinted to the garage, except for Sam, who followed at the same pace I did.

When I got to the garage, I couldn't help but be pleased. It was exactly what I wanted!

It was an Audi R8 coupe, in ice blue, with dark grey leather interior. Only dad could know to get me that, and I smiled. This was the one good thing about having a dad who could read your mind.

Jacob was standing there practically worshiping my new car, as were the rest of the La Push teens, and I felt myself blush.

"Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad. It's exactly what I wanted!" I said, hugging them, and mouthing extra thanks at Mom. Jake caught me.

"What's that for?" He asked.

"For shielding our thoughts. Haven't you noticed that my dad has been uncharacteristically patient with us today?" I said, grinning at him, and ducking under his arm, that was propped against the wall of the garage, to walk back into the house.

Alice had pushed the table to one wall, and party music was playing. She and Jasper were sitting on the kitchen counter, hand in hand, waiting for the others to come back.

Jasper looked at me, compassion and understanding filling his eyes, when I felt a pang of jealousy and longing as I looked at their hands, and the loving way he looked at her. I wondered if I'd ever have something like that, someone who would love me and protect me.

I leaned against the wall and heaved a sigh.

It was late afternoon now, around four, and the clouds were blocking the sun, making it look like night.

Everyone came back in one huge clump, walking in and dancing, chattering among each other and drinking punch.

I was dealing with it, barely holding myself together, when Sam and Emily walked over to talk with Jared and Kim. Sam leaned over Emily, unexpectedly kissing her. He kissed her with a passion that made my eyes burn, and I quickly escaped out the back door.

I walked over to where there were no windows, and sat down on the back porch. I wiped my eyes and wished that Jacob were out here with me.

I guess I was lucky, or Jake was bored, because Jacob slid out the back door, and sat down next to me. He held my hand, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Are we going to talk now?" I asked.

"Yeah. We are," he said, looking down.

I should've felt relieved. The hard part was over, right? Wasn't the hard part getting him out here? Now it was all over with, right?

That seemed to be right... but what was I supposed to say?

**Ok... so I will probably have the next chapter out by the end of this week. Thanks for the feedback! Sorry to keep you hanging. Keep reviewing!**


	4. Chap 3 Awkward

**Disclaimer: Bella said no, and Edward reading my mind would be really irritating. Alice said it would lead to bad things, and Rosalie stuck her tongue out at me when I tried, so I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Hey! I tried!!**

JACOB BLACK

Renesmee sat there, with her head in her hands. Her beautiful bronze curls draped across her face, her brow furrowed, and her silky skin pinched in-between it. She bit down on her full lip, a habit she'd picked up from her mom. Her tiny figure slumped, and underneath her hair, her face was wet with tears. As soon as she heard me answer her question, she straightened up, and looked at me.

"Jake…"she started. She played with her pinky finger as she attempted at speaking something.

"Can I talk first?" I asked. I needed to know how she felt now, before I lost my mind.

She nodded, very eager to hear what I had to say, only because she was struggling so much with getting the words she wanted to say out of her mouth.

"First… before I say anything else… you need to know how I feel. I'm warning you, this imprinting thing makes guys get really cheesy and romantic."

When I finished, her eyes filled with this strange light and she sat a little straighter, leaning towards me. I gulped and kept going.

"Okay… when you imprint on someone… it feels like the entire world depends on them. Suddenly, nothing else matters but them, and you will do anything to make their lives better. You'll do anything that will make them happy.

"When you were a baby, you needed a big brother, so that's the figure I was. I would hold you and feed you and take care of you. The guys in the pack - well… all accept for Quil - teased me and called me your second mom.

"When you were a little girl, you wanted a playmate, so I played with you. Everything became a game. I suddenly found myself pretending to be all sorts of things, and following you on my hands and knees through the forests. That came with it's own teasing. Emmett joked about me being the worst smelling bear.

"As you got older, I became a friend. I became someone to lean on and talk to. I was someone you'd play video games with and you'd just hang out with me all the time. We joked around and acted like siblings, only our bond was much stronger.

"Now, for some reason, I'm not becoming what you want. I'm becoming what I need to be. I don't see my sister or my playmate or my friend when I look at you anymore. I see… I see…"

I didn't know how to go on, and Nessie's mouth was hanging open. Her eyes were wide, whether they were wide with horror or joy I couldn't tell, so I forged ahead, rambling through the next words faster than I would've liked.

"I see a beautiful woman when I look at you… I see the girl I'm in love with. And I'm not telling you that you need to be my lover. If you say you still need a friend, I'll be a friend. I will be whatever you need me to be."

After a pause I mumbled, "Wow, that was cheesy."

I waited in silence, looking out at the surrounding forest, not wanting to see her appalled face, when I heard her breathing hitch. I looked over and, to my horror, she was crying.

"Nessy! Oh, I'm so sorry. Did I say something?" I asked.

Her tears elevated into silent sobs, shaking her tiny body and knocking the breath out of her. I grew angry with myself.

"I shouldn't have said anything," I said. "I'm an idiot."

"N-n-no! Jake I'm ha-happy!" she said in between sobs.

"You can't be serious," I said. She was happy?

The only way she would be happy is if she felt the same way, and my brain refused to understand that. How could someone as wonderful and sweet as my Nessie, love me? It was impossible.

She calmed herself down and once more wiped her hand against her face. She sat up straight for once and put her head against my shoulder.

I didn't move. Her skin felt just the way it always had, but I had never felt anything so wonderful. I had no idea why she was laying her cheek on me, but I wanted her to stay there forever.

"I'm dead serious," she said.

I took her face in my hands and made her look me in the eyes. Her endless brown eyes were just like Bella's had been, and that only made me love her more. Nowhere in her eyes could I find an emotion other than love, and I felt my heart threaten to explode with hope.

"Explain," I said. I wanted to know exactly why she was happy. I still didn't understand.

"I… I don't know what there is to explain. I… what I wanted to say before was that… I just…" she sighed. "I wanted to tell you I loved you. Not the way I did before… but… like… "

"Like?" I encouraged.

"Like the way Emily loves Sam," she said, looking as if she was remembering a far-off bad dream. She shook her head quickly to expel the thought, and then looked at me. Her eyes were full of hope and denial, and a few extra tears squeezed out the corner of her eyelids.

I guess you could say that the light bulb hanging over my head came on.

Underneath my incoherent rejoicing thoughts, there were others.

_I want to kiss her, but that would only be the beginning. What do I do next? Oh no. I'm going to have to ask him for her hand in marriage. He wants things done the "traditional" way. Ugh. That's going to be awkward. I'd been thinking about this for a while, but it still didn't seem any easier. What am I supposed to say? How am I going to tell everyone Nessy and I are together? 'Yeah, Nessy and I told each other how we feel tonight, and tommorrow we're getting married!' That didn't seem like a rush at all! Yeah, right._

Despite the fact that I'd ruled against it, I pulled Nessie's face to mine. I kissed her softly and passionately, and her arms looped around my neck. My hands held her head in place, and soon we were going at it like wild teenagers. She had to pull away to breathe, only to kiss down my neck and wrap her arms around my waist.

"Nessie? Hey, did you see where Nessie went?" I heard Embry ask from inside.

"We've got to go!" she exclaimed in a whisper. She pulled away and stood up. Her face was bright and her eyes shone. She flashed a huge grin at me, and grabbed my hand.

I quickly pulled her inside, and shut the door behind us. We leaned against the wall next to each other like we'd been there the whole time. I was still worried they'd know something had happened, because Nessie's rejoicing smile was hard to miss. At least, it was hard for me to miss.

Embry worked his way toward us, and as soon as he saw me, he froze.

Embry exploded into a fit of laughter.

Everyone turned to look at me, and one by one they broke out into howls of laughter. Even Sam cracked up. I noticed that Rosalie and Emmett weren't there, and I was grateful. Whatever they were laughing at, I was sure Blondie and her mate's reaction would be ten times worse.

"When you said that you wanted to go to her, I had no idea you meant that!" Leah exclaimed, she was already laughing so hard that tears rolled down her face.

When I nervously wheeled to see Edward's face, he didn't look mad. He looked extremely relieved, like he had been waiting centuries for this to happen.

Nessie looked up at me to see what everyone was laughing about, and bit her lip trying not to laugh. She bent over, her laughs muffled by her hands plastering her mouth shut.

"What?" I asked.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a tube of lipstick.

"I'm covered in lipstick, aren't I?" I asked in a flat voice. It was just my luck that a thing like this would happen.

She nodded, tears escaping her eyes, and grabbed her stomach.

I stood there staring in front of me for half a second.

Then I busted-up, too.

After everyone in the room had laughed for at least five minutes, I went to go wash my face off.

As I looked at my face in the mirror, I could see what they were talking about. My lips were surrounded in pink, and pink lip marks were strung down my neck. That wasn't it though! There was more! My hair was clumped at the back of my head where Nessie had clung on to it, and my eyes were wild with exultation. Seeing this, I doubled over in laughter again.

After I had cleaned my face, I went back out to join the party. Embry and Quil were teasing Nessie, talking about embarrassing things I'd done in the past. I recognized their "this is the person you just kissed" speech and walked up.

As soon as I stood beside Nessie they shut their mouths. I wrapped my arm around her waist, trying to pull her away, and her heart skipped a beat.

I had only got her to move an inch when I saw Rosalie and Emmett walking across the room. I let her go; stepping back, and they came over to talk to us. Emmett playfully punched Quil's shoulder, and as soon as Emmett's eyes were on Nessie, Quil started rubbing the spot he hit.

"Happy Birthday, Nessie." Rosalie said. She nodded towards me. "Fido."

"Blondie." I said, cocking my head to one side and panting.

She rolled her eyes and went to hug Nessie. When she was and inch away from her she froze and backed up. Her nose was wrinkled and she made a gagging sound.

"Nessie, you smell like a dog. What did he do, lick you?" she joked.

"Basically." Embry said, trying to be casual about it, but still staring at Rosalie. He struggled to keep his mouth closed. I wouldn't have been surprised if he started drooling. Sure, Blondie was gorgeous, but not gorgeous enough to make up for the stink and attitude.

Rosalie's mouth hung wide open as she looked at Nessie in astonishment.

Emmett's earsplitting laugh echoed through the room, louder than the blaring music, but no one paid attention to him.

"That's why she smells so bad, Rose! She made out with the dog!" he said, and burst into another booming laugh.

Rosalie stared at Nessie still, but now she looked disgusted, and I quickly towed Nessie away.

We walked around talking to everyone, and ate the cake - Nessie acted like she enjoyed it, but later said she was about to blow chunks. There wasn't a single second that we weren't together, and it got a lot of attention.

Somehow, our relationship had changed drastically in the past hour. I found myself feeling very possessive of her.

Once everything was done, I stood at the door with her as she said goodbye to the guests one by one.

Sam had been the last person to leave. He had smiled and nodded at me reassuringly, and Emily had winked at Nessie. I shut the door behind them, and then I tugged her close to me.

Nessie pulled her head back to talk in my ear. She giggled.

"I think that was a congratulations, don't you?" she asked.

"That, and a good luck," I answered, making it clear we had a battle ahead of us.

"For what?" she questioned.

"Dealing with your parents," I said.

She stiffened. "Oh. Right," she said, her voice flat. She sighed, pulled out of my arms, and slipped away.

"Nessy?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are you going?"

"To find my parents, why?" she said, obviously confused as to why I would want to know.

"Let me handle them, okay?" I said, slipping my arm around her waist again.

"Oh, I wasn't going to tell them anything, I was going to ask them when I was supposed to go home. I'm exhausted,"

"I'll tell them you left, you go home and sleep, okay?" She looked drained.

"'Kay Jake. "Night…" she said, her eyebrows furrowing at the end. She looked up at me, sleepy, but intense at the same time. "I love you." She stood on her toes to kiss underneath my jaw.

"Goodnight Nessie. I love you more." And with that I scooped her up in my arms to kiss her lips.

She giggled, and ran off into the forest in a flash, leaving the grass swaying with the wind of her current.

I sighed. Now I just had to ask Edward for Nessie's hand in marriage. No big deal at all! I thought sarcastically.

I was very nervous; there was no doubting that. There was a great chance that, once I popped the question, he would pop me. Nessie was his princess. He was probably the most strict, old fashioned, and powerful - not to mention stinky - dad on the planet, and I had to ask him for his daughter's hand in marriage. I'd had seven years to prepare, and I still didn't know how to do it, or what to say.

I walked toward the house, fidgeting with the edge of my shirt, wondering what to do next.

I decided I would go inside and help clean, to pass the time while I figured out how the heck I was going to do this. The room had been a mess when Nessie and I had left it, it would be easy to find something to do while I thought about what I was going to say. I felt my stomach twist into a pretzel knot as I stepped in front of the door.

EDWARD CULLEN

Carlisle's house smelled awful. It would take months for the smell to fade. Alice had already cleaned everything up, and yet it still smelled so strong that my nose was wrinkled so badly I thought it might stay that way permanently. We were used to having Jacob and his pack over, but never that many werewolves at one time.

I heard muffled footsteps on the porch, and they sounded so heavy that I knew it was Jacob. He opened the door and shut it, and my brow furrowed. It sounded tentative, like he was unsure of himself, and it reminded me of the way Bella used to sound when she was human. That was odd. It wasn't normal for Jacob to be nervous. The mutt was so overconfident it drove me crazy.

Jacob walked up, looking around the room frantically. A look of despair was on his face as he stated, "Alice cleaned up."

He looked around some more, glancing at everything in the room. He spotted Rosalie across the room and looked at Bella next to me. He glanced back and forth between Bella and Rosalie a few more times, and then walked quickly over to Rosalie. She looked at him like he was committing a crime as he opened his mouth to speak to her.

_What the heck is the dog doing? Is he actually going to speak to me?_

"So, yeah, Rosalie," Everyone in the room stared in shock as he carefully said her name, as if unsure it was really hers. Jacob never said Rosalie's name, he always called her "Blondie". "What's up? How are… things? What's hanging with y- uh… things lately?" Jacob said. He was pausing in the strangest places and stuttering for no reason.

"Uhhh… kid… what is your problem?" Rosalie asked. _What the heck is he talking to me for? Sheesh! He looks so nervous!_ "What's up Jake, is the dogcatcher after you?" she asked, laughing at her own joke.

Jake laughed, fake and uneasy, and then walked up to me, looking at the floor when he came to a stop. He took a deep breath and it looked like all of the blood in his body rushed to his head. I finally realized what he was doing, and I was grudgingly respectful of him. I didn't think he would do this for me.

It was all very clear now, the nervousness, the hesitation, and the look on his face that said "I'm about to get my head chopped off and hung on a wall". He was going to do this right. He was going to ask me for Nessie's hand in marriage.

I smiled at him. This could be fun. Bella looked at me with a question in her eyes, and I shook my head at her, telling her I'd tell her later, and looked at him, keeping my face smooth.

"What's up, Jake?" I asked, acting confused.

"Uhhh… can I talk to, um, you outside… Edward?" he asked, gulping.

"You can talk to me about anything in here, we don't have secrets in our family." I said.

"Here! In front of ever- I mean really. I just… um… really, dude, uh," he said, shaking his head, trying to dispel some thought I couldn't here. He studied Bella, and then concentrated for a moment on something obviously unpleasant for him. He shook his head again, and then looked up at me, his face ashen, and his eyes panicky.

"Jacob… you look pale." I stated. He really did look very pale, no mean feat for a Quileute Indian.

"I think I need to get some air," he choked out, barreling out the front door into the meadow surrounding the house. I chuckled quietly once I was sure he was out of earshot.

"What is it, Edward?" Bella asked, concerned about Jacob. She looked like she was about to bolt out the door. I grabbed her hand, keeping her still.

"He's going to ask me for Nessie's hand in marriage." I whispered silently in her ear, so no one but her had a prayer of hearing it. She glared at me.

"Be nice," she warned.

"Aren't I always?" I asked, chuckling, and escaped out the front door.

Jacob was wearing a line in the grass outside the house where he'd been pacing. His color had almost returned, but his breathing was uneven as he looked at me.

"Hey, Jake, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, stepping beside where he was pacing. He stopped right in front of me and took a deep breath.

"Edward, I need to ask you something," he said, sweat dewing on his forehead.

"Okay, shoot. You can ask me anything, Jacob." I said, my eyebrows furrowing.

"Okay… um… well… I was… wondering if it would be - I mean I wanted - if it was okay with - if you would give me Nessie's hand - well not her hand but - if it was okay with you - if she was married - well if we could get married - it she could marry, well um…" he took a deep breath and on an unsteady note he finished. "Me."

The last word sounded undecided, and now he cringed awaiting my response. I was having so much fun with this that I decided to milk it a little, since he was already terrified.

"Jacob Black," I said, in false disbelief and outrage. "Are you asking me if you can marry my _daughter_? _My_ Nessie. My only daughter? Are you asking me if you are allowed to take her away from me, forever? So she will forever belong to someone else for all of eternity? My only offspring? The _only_ child I will ever have?"

Jacob squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. He looked at me; resolve the only emotion in his eyes. "Yes," he said, very sure of himself. He was very positive and unwavering until he saw the indecision in my eyes. My brow puckered and I started pacing back and forth, rubbing my chin.

"Hmm… well… yeah… I don't know, Jacob… I'm not sure…" I murmured.

Jacob looked horrified, and turned a strange shade of green. He leaned over the ground, as if the upper half of his spine was made of jello. He held his stomach, and a sheen of sweat covered his face. He moaned, and looked as if he was about to topple over.

"Hey, Jake." I said, smiling widely. I decided it was time to give him a break.

He looked up at me, hope in his eyes as he heard me laugh. His face returned to normal color, and he moved the hand on his stomach to wipe the sweat off his face. He was still confused, but he knew something was going on.

"Of course, you can marry her. What did you think I was going to say?" I said, laughing.

There was light in his eyes as he grinned at me. He was vibrating, and for once it wasn't because he was about to explode into a giant dog. The vibrating changed to jumping, and then he ran toward me hugging me like I had just made his best dream come true - which I probably had. I was surprised. Didn't think the mutt had it in him.

I heard Bella step out of the house, and then Jacob froze as she giggled.

"I thought I'd never see the day," she said, cracking up laughing.

He looked up slowly, staring at me, and realized what he was doing. He jumped back and shuddered, brushing his shirt off, as if he could make the smell go away that way. He looked at me and shivered dramatically then composed himself.

"Thanks, lee-para-bloo-Edward…" he shook his head, as if all of those names didn't fit. "Dad."

"Whoa. That is so _freaky_!" Bella exclaimed. "I'll be your mother-in-law!!"

"Do you have a problem with that?" he asked, teasing her.

"Well… it's just… no, not really. I've had seven years to get used to the idea," Bella said, sighing.

"Okay… _mom_," he said, grinning evilly at her.

She glared at him, wide eyed as he strode off into the forest, chuckling all the way. I heard the small burst of air as he shifted into a wolf, and then Bella let her shield down, and I could hear his unintelligible happy thoughts.

Bella walked up and wrapped her arm around my waist. She pressed her face into my side and I could suddenly hear her thoughts. She had moved her shield.

_I__'ve never seen him so happy. All of the times I had to break his heart, and he finally has someone he's going to share his life with. I guess I'm glad that Nessie's going to marry him, if it was anyone else I wouldn't think they were worthy of her._

_He loves her almost as much as I love you._ Bella thought.

I sighed, and as much as he irritated me, I knew it was true.

**Yo my peoples! Review and subscribe! Make sure that you read next week! It's going to get *tap fingertips together and evil laugh* ... interesting. Thanks and keep reviewing!**


	5. Chap 4 Revenge

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight! Stephenie Meyer owns everything! Well... not everything. She doesn't own me... at least... I _think _she doesn't own me. What if... Oh my gosh! What if... let's change the subject.**

NADIA

I didn't know why I was coming here, they couldn't really know all that much about whom I was trying to find… but dad had said that they would take care of me. The Quileute tribe must be a good people. At least I wouldn't be alone.

On his deathbed, my father had told me only a little about this tribe. He had given me a map, which would show me where I could find the tribe.

He had been so old, and one day he just didn't get out of bed in the morning. I went in to see if he was okay, and I found him with sweat on his forehead, gasping and clinging to my mother's picture. He was unsteady as he sat up to greet me, so I pushed him back onto the pillows.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I had asked, putting my hand on his forehead. He was hotter than usual. He had been struggling, was he sick?

"My Nadia, come sit by me," he said, gesturing shakily with his hand to the edge of the bed.

"I have had many a year, much more than you could even imagine, and there is so much I have not told you about." His labored English was slurred and weak. He sounded almost sleepy, but now as I realized what was going on, I knew it would not be that kind of sleep.

A tear slid from my eye. I would have no one left. I'd have to live alone.

"Do you see the box above my head, made of old redwood? Open it. Inside of it there will be a map. This map will lead you to the Quileute tribe. If you tell them my name, they will tell you all you need to know, and they will take care of you."

"I love you, Dad. I don't want- I can't- I'm not sure… after Mom- I just- don't know…" I was sobbing. I was kneeling on the floor now, with my face buried in my dad's chest.

"Ssh… calm down, Nadia. I know," he said, rubbing the back of my head weakly with his hand.

"I need to ask you something," I said, choking back the tears.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Who… what was it that killed Mom?" I asked.

"Cold ones. Blood drinkers. Or… you might know them as vampires," he said, his voice, though still weak, sounded outraged. He sounded as if these fiends had taken his life away.

"Daddy, don't…" I started, trailing off.

"Just remember that you _have_ to tell the Quileutes about us. They'll help you. I love you," he said, his eyes closing.

"No! Dad! You cant! I won't! Oh, please! Please!" I begged sobbing into his chest again. My hands clung to his shirt, and tears were starting to pool up.

"My Nadia. I have had a long life. You needn't be upset about me. As for you, you are a beautiful, wise girl. You will not be alone for long," he said, trying to comfort me.

My father was about to die. My father was about to die and he was trying to comfort _me._ I made myself sick. How selfish could I be? My father's last moments on earth should've been happy ones. I was so self-centered. He was suffering.

"I love you," I said. "I know that mom would say the same."

The look on his dying face sent a tsunami of emotions crash down on me. He was so broken whenever we spoke of my mother, and the pallid faces that had killed her. He was here on his deathbed, so pitifully frail and weak. He would never be able to get revenge on them, to do to them what they'd done to him. They'd taken my mother away, and now my dad was dying.

I had a feeling it was all linked, because dad's declining had started when mom passed away. He had just given up, and he hadn't taken care of himself.

I'd find that he'd forgotten to feed himself, and that he hadn't changed clothes. I'd go off to school and come back to find him in the same place I'd left him; usually either on the couch watching television, or in the yard watching the stream behind our house. I couldn't let him see that I saw the depression, so I was left to wonder if I was the only reason he didn't kill himself. I felt like, because he thought he had to stay for me, and that I was the reason he was going through such pain. I then realized, that it was the vampires that were to blame.

Right there, kneeling at my dad's bed, with my face in his chest, hearing his last heartbeat, I promised myself that the vampires who killed my mother would fall, along with anyone willing to stand with them.

His heart had stopped, and I looked up at his face.

His face was broken, twisted in misery and agony. The same expression he had worn when I spoke of mom, frozen on his face for all of eternity.

I had lain against his dead body for hours, crying myself out, and feeling his face run cold. It was so strange seeing his body like that. It was my father's body, all right, but it was so empty without his spirit living inside of it.

I clung to his shirt, curling up in a ball on his chest. My father was all I had left. I had no friends to help me. I was a freak at school. I had no other relatives that I knew of. It was over.

Now I had to leave him, because I felt that I had to honor his wish that I go to the Quiluetes. My tears ran faster now, as I kissed my father's cold cheek. I had wrenched myself away from him, sobbing as I left my ch

Now I was on a reservation in America. I was in Washington, to be exact, and I walked into a small shop, hoping someone would know where the tribe leader was.

I saw a beautiful woman, probably about six years older than me; look up as I walked into the shop. She looked like she had just eaten something sour. The shop was a grocery store, probably the only one on the reservation. She stood behind the counter, and I walked up to her.

"Hello," I said, smiling at her.

"Hi. What do you want?" she said curtly.

"Do you know of anyone who can help me? I'm new here," I asked.

"Right now it's my shift, so you're looking at her," she said, sourly.

"Umm… do you know where I can find the tribe leader?" I asked.

"We don't really have a leader, kid. We've got a council," she corrected.

"Oh… do you know a way I can get in touch with them?" I asked sweetly, covering up my sour mood.

"Hah! You want to meet with the council! Good luck!" she scoffed.

"Do you know anyone I can talk to who is in authority here?" I asked, still smiling.

"Yes, but he doesn't talk to just any little girl that comes here on a whim. Get lost," she said.

_Oh, yeah miss "high and mighty"? Let's see how you feel when you're in a pretzel knot!_

"If you could just tell me the name of one person on your council, please," I said, losing the smile.

"Make me," she said, obviously not used to having to do anything she didn't want to.

"Please, don't be difficult, I just need an address, a phone number, a name, a name of someone who can give me a name! Please, just help me out," I begged. Begging was a stretch for me. I wasn't used to being pushed around.

"Why should I?" she asked, looking over her fingernails. "What's in it for me?"

"Just tell me a name. It doesn't take that much effort. You don't have to move an inch or go anywhere."

_You'll stop right there if you know what's good for you. Don' t push me any further, _I thought as a feather of heat brushed down my back.

"No," she said, challenging me. I felt my hand clamp down on the counter. She was so close to pushing me over the edge. She stuck her nose up and rolled her eyes and I exhaled. I couldn't do it any longer.

Now I was mad. "Listen here. I've just had the worst day of my life. I am alone, and all I was told was to talk to the Quileute tribe. I don't know who you are, Miss "Queen of the world" but I would really like to have a chance to speak to someone other than you. So if you will just tell me where to go, and when, for the next council meeting, or if you will tell me who to contact, without giving me anymore of your overlord attitude, I will not rip your pretty little arms out, and stick them on backwards," I said, my entire body burning. Everything turned red in my eyes.

She surprised me by smiling. She took a post-it off the counter and scribbled something on it, and when I looked at it, it was an address.

"And come back again, I like you," she said, waving as I walked toward the door.

"What's you're name, so I can tell them who sent me?" I asked.

"Leah Clearwater!!" she shouted as I raced out the door.

The house was small and on a barren drive. I knocked at the door, and stood there, wondering what to say. A small woman with awful scars came to the door. She looked like some animal had attacked her. A little girl was clinging onto her dress, looking up at me with frightened eyes. I must've looked awful. Despite the fact she was scarred and her child was afraid, she was happy. She looked perfectly content with her lot, and I immediately felt respect for her.

"Hello?" she said.

"Is um…" I looked at the post-it Leah had given me again. "Sam Uley here?"

"Yes, I'll go get him," she said.

I heard a muffled deep voice speaking from the far back of the house, and it grew nearer until a tall man was at the door. I heard a tiny voice that must've belonged to the little girl. He reached down and scooped her up from where she was standing. She giggled and he smiled at her, tickling her and telling her there was someone waiting to talk to him. She complained in a high voice. He smiled at her and set her down, telling her to go find her mother, and then turned his eyes on me. He was the Alpha of the pack; I could sense it from where I was standing.

"Sam Uley?" I asked.

"That's my name. Who are you?"

"Nadia," I said.

"Who sent you here?" He asked, scratching his head.

"Leah Clearwater," I said, "after a lot of prodding."

"Why?" He asked.

"I was asking her about the tribe, because I was sent here by a friend," I said, careful not to make my case clear until I was sure I had the right man.

"Who is your friend?" he asked, and I heard my father's voice in my head. He had made it very clear that I was supposed to say his name, and he had said it twice, so what was the harm?

"He was actually my father. His name was Taha Aki," I said.

The response was completely unexpected.

He looked at me, as if I'd just spoken some foreign language. He pointed a finger at me, and then looked at me like I was crazy. He finally calmed down, and put his hand on my lower back, guiding me into his house. He closed the door and spun me around to look at him.

"Tell me more about yourself. Can you do anything special?" he asked.

"No. I can't do anything _really_ special. I change into a wolf and my spirit can leave my body. That's it," I said. It really wasn't that impressive.

He still looked at me like he thought I was crazy.

"Hey, can you do that too?" I asked, sudden inspiration budding in my head. He _looked_ like he was the same kind of person as me, and his presence felt like an Alpha.

He nodded slowly.

"Then I can _show_ you what I need to say!" I said, opening the door to his house and walking out into the covering of the forests. I was thrilled that I didn't have to try to tell him. It would be so much easier now.

"Okay," he said.

I removed my clothes and phased into my white wolf, waiting for him to join me. I trotted out of the trees, and he reluctantly walked through the trees

He was a midnight-colored wolf, and now that we were phased at the same time, I _knew_ he was the Alpha of a pack.

When I thought back to how Leah sent me here, he growled. He was angry with Leah for being so difficult. He didn't believe what I had told him about my father. I was shocked. _My father _was in _their legends._ Taha Aki the great, Taha Aki the strong, Taha Aki the first shape-shifter. I was tired of his mocking thoughts. He thought there was no way that my father was Taha Aki. I'd show him.

I remembered how he died, I remembered everything about my dad, and Sam's thoughts became shocked. He believed me, and now I didn't believe him. My dad had been a tribe leader, and the first shape-shifter? At first it didn't make sense to me but as soon as I really listened, it did. It explained how easy it was for me to shape shift, and how my dad was so uneasy whenever we went out spirit walking. The legends I was hearing in Sam's head made complete sense of how my dad acted, and I started to believe him, too. What the man in their stories did was exactly what I knew my dad would do, and it finally made sense why dad had sent me here. Of course they would take care of me. I was their true Alpha. I was the last direct descendant of Taha Aki. They would protect me with their lives.

I wanted my thoughts to myself, so I ran behind a tree and changed back; putting my shirt and shorts on and brushing the long hairs off my clothes. A few white hairs that came off the wolf fell to the ground, and once again I was struck with how big the wolf's hair was. One of the thick strands was almost as long as my leg. I hadn't wanted to cut my hair, so my wolf had grown shaggy, until it had long flowing white fur. In Sam's eyes, it had been amazing and beautiful, so I decided to keep it.

I glanced toward where he had been standing, but he was already inside, calling what sounded like the pack.

He was calling a council meeting, and I sat outside of his house against the porch, thinking over my plan. It was obvious the Quileutes knew something about vampires, because Sam had thought about a legend where a vampire had killed my father's first wife. I finally could grasp why my father had so much hatred toward the vampires. I had to do something about this.

Behind the determination, I was heartbroken. I could still see my father's cold, lifeless, broken face in my head; it was a permanent scar, like the pictures of my mother's death. I knew that I would never be able to forget that, even if I saw everything, and lived forever.

I liked Sam, because his thoughts were like mine. I could understand him, and though I'd only just met him, I felt kind of dependent on him. He felt protective of me, and I knew that we would be good friends.

His wife, Emily, was the small woman with the scars. I had heard enough of Sam's thoughts to know that the scars were not from a wild animal. I knew that he had given her those scars, and he would never heal from that. He had been surprised when I felt understanding about his situation. I was scarred also, but our scars were so different, that I guess we could never fully understand each other.

Sam seemed almost like a father figure, but something didn't feel right. Sam couldn't help me with my scars, because he had his own. I needed someone strong and knowing, someone that knew my mind well, and I knew that it didn't matter how long he listened to my thoughts, Sam would never fully understand me.

The tears rolled down my cheeks and I was pretty sure that I had good reason for crying now. There were too many reasons to count; I was crying because I was angry at the stupid leeches for taking away all I had. I had no one left. I was crying because I was sad my father was gone, and my mom wasn't there to comfort me, because no matter how long I lived, I would never be able to get back what was taken away from me. I was crying because I was overwhelmed with life. I'd never had this much on my plate, and I wasn't dealing with it well. I was mad with myself for not staying strong. No one wanted to watch me feel sorry for myself.

I hadn't realized that Sam was behind me until he spoke, and even then it didn't matter. He'd heard my thoughts. This new friend knew everything about me.

"We have to leave. I'm holding a council meeting. Not everyone will be able to make it, but this is an emergency," he said, we changed and ran.

I saw a little clearing in his head; it had a group of six wooden picnic tables and a few chairs there. I could see that he had set them up deep in the forests. We ran in silence there. I tried to steer clear of the emotional thoughts I had, but according to Sam's reactions I wasn't doing very well.

I decided to ask him a question.

_Do you know anything about the cold ones? The vampires?_ I thought.

_Yes. We have become friends with a coven of them, and they really are good. We don't have any trouble with them, _he responded. His thoughts radiated gratification.

_Have you met any that are bad?_ I thought. I was seeing the coven in my head. A blonde- haired male named Carlisle, his mate named Esme, another male named Jasper and a female named Rosalie. Her mate was named Emmett, and he was big and burly. There were a few with special powers. A bronze-haired male named Edward who could read minds, his mate Bella who had a shield, and their daughter Renesmee, who could project her thoughts to anyone. She was one of the shape-shifter's mate. Interesting. There was a tiny one named Alice, with dark hair, who could predict the future. As Sam thought of them, they seemed nice. They couldn't have been who killed my mom.

_Well, there was this one time that we met a bunch of vampires, _he reasoned.

I saw it, and was able to point them out. The small one, the big one, and the regular sized male had haunted me in my sleep since I was six. I heard their names in his thoughts.

_That's Jane, Felix, and Demetri, the tracker. They are some of the Volturi._

He changed back, interrupting me, and I changed back also, wanting to have time to think.

We arrived at the clearing before anyone else, but soon after we were dressed and sitting down, we heard another wolf in the forests. I waited till I heard a small unnatural breeze and the ruffling of fabric to look to where I heard the noise. A tall man with happy eyes looked toward us, nodding at Sam and furrowing his brow at me. He was very confused as to why I was there, and was very hesitant to approach, like he was trying to hide something from me or something.

"Jacob this is Nadia. Nadia this is Jacob. He's the leader of the other pack here in La Push," Sam said.

"Hello, Nadia," Jacob said, holding out his hand. He was the one whose mate was a vampire.

"Hi Jacob," I said, surprised with how husky my voice sounded. I'd been doing a lot of crying.

People started arriving at the same time then, and it was really hard to keep up with them. The last people to arrive were Leah and Seth Clearwater. I felt drawn to approach and greet them, and was confused as to why. Maybe it was because I'd already spoke with Leah.

Leah was very surprised to see me there, and she just stared open-mouthed as the meeting began. I saw her handsome brother sit next to her, never once meeting my eyes.

A man in a wheel chair was rolled onto a wooden platform in the clearing, along with a very old man, and another. I figured these were probably the tribe elders.

I was introduced to them then sat next to Sam, who was sitting in front of what seemed to be the packs, with the elders sitting right behind him.

"I've brought you all here because of this girl. We have an assurance that the legends we were all told are true, even truer than the people who tell them believe.

"This," he said, gesturing to me. "Is Nadia, as you all know, and Nadia is a very special person. Let me just say, before she speaks, that everything she's about to say is true."

Sam gestured to me, and I guess he wanted me to tell my story.

"I am eighteen years old. I was raised in South America and my mother died when I was six. Only just recently has my father died, on this very day," I said, as Sam lit some lanterns. It was late now, and I couldn't believe that it had been less than a week since my father died.

"My father sent me here, telling me that you would take care of me, and I wouldn't be alone. The only instruction he made clear was to tell you his name. I didn't see the importance then, but I sure see it now.

"My father's name was Taha Aki. I have recently learned that he was the first shape-shifter.

"I too am a shape-shifter, and a spirit walker, as I assume all of you are. I have been able to shape-shift from a very young age and did not know that there were many others until now. I have never even dreamed of a pack this big," I finished, gazing out at their shocked faces. The elders were silent, and I think I heard one of them gasp.

The one named Quil was the first one to speak.

"Whoa! Talk about unexpected!"

The rest of the large crowd seemed to come alive with questions exactly two seconds after Quil spoke, and I couldn't keep up with them all. As soon as everyone had asked their question they started praising me. They were saying things like "it's such an honor to meet you" and "in all of my life I never even imagined" or "I can't believe I'm actually talking to you", they were all very welcoming. I couldn't help but peek over at Seth Clearwater every few seconds, to see what he was doing.

Leah was rejoicing.

"I knew you were special! I just knew it!" she said.

"Yeah… sure you did," I said sarcastically.

"Here, I want you to meet my brother, Seth," she said, pulling me towards him.

I looked up to meet his eyes, and the strangest thing happened.

The universe started spinning in a different direction. My heart went out to him and told me I was to stay there forever.

I had only just met this man, and I wanted him forever. I was in love with him, and he was all that mattered.

"Hello Seth," I said, marveling at how beautiful his eyes were. There was something beautiful and pure about him.

"Hello Nadia," he said back, and I was shocked at how right my name sounded on his tongue.

I was shocked at how much this stranger's words meant to me. I was suddenly dizzy with how fast it was moving.

A tiny voice inside my head warned me that this wasn't normal.

_No one falls for someone this hard and this fast. It isn't right. Something's very wrong about this. I shouldn't feel this way!_

As the words sunk in, I felt a wave of panic. What was wrong with me? Had I gone insane? Only a second ago I was so far gone in my grieving for my dad that I didn't feel like living. How was it possible that I was in love with him? I didn't even know him.

Someone pulled me away into the crowd then, and I was standing in front of the wooden platform where Jacob and Sam were sitting.

I wanted to go back and talk to Seth. I wanted to learn more about the person, who was suddenly the center of my world, but being pulled away had snapped me out of it, and it was time to think this through.

If I went up and talked to him, he'd either become friends with me, fall in love with me, or hate me. If either of the first two happened, I would run into some big trouble with trying to avenge my parent's death. If he followed me, there was a chance that he could get killed. Even when I had only said a few words to him, I refused to think about that for long.

I couldn't take my chances with this. I couldn't drag him down this road with me. This was my problem.

I had to deal with the Volturi before I got too close to him.

_Before _he_ gets too close to _me_,_ I amended. It was too late for me now.

The only way I was going to do this is if I could come back and see him. I promised myself that as soon as these parasites were taken care of, I would come back and be with Seth.

For now it was time to find out about these Volturi.

Idecided to frame my question then, while I could still keep my eyes open.

"Who are the Volturi? You thought about them on the way here, Sam," I said.

Jacob sat straight up and stared at me with wide eyes. This name must've meant something to him.

"The Volturi are the royals of the vampire world. They live in their town, Volterra, in Italy. Nobody messes with them, because if you make them mad, they've got your head," Jacob said.

Volterra, Italy. Jane, Felix, and Demetri.

I thanked him, and nonchalantly excused myself. Sam invited me to stay at his house, but I told him I was busy. I wanted to stay with Seth, but I knew I had to take care of these bloodsuckers now, so he wouldn't follow me later, if he felt the same way I did about him.

I waited until everyone had gone home, and thanked Sam, saying I'd rather stay in the forests for the night, because I was used to them. His parting words were, "I'll come to see you in the morning."

I felt bad for deceiving him… but he couldn't know.

I tied my clothes around a rope, putting it on my leg, and changed into my wolf, leaving my new friends behind. I was struck with the loss I felt, having to leave the place Seth was, but it was the way it had to be to protect him.

I set off toward Italy, leaving my heart behind.

**That's all for now! It seems really off-subject and out of the blue this chapter... but it isn't! All of these things will work together in the end! Just keep reading! I'm posting the next chapter this Sunday. Sorry. It was hard to write. You'll see why.**

**By the way, if you are wondering about the tribe's reaction to Nadia's dad, check out the legends in Chap. 11 of Eclipse. Yes, sirree, it's all in the book! ****Yes, I know. I am evil. **

**You haven't seen anything yet! Please, please, please, please review!**


	6. Chap 5 Search

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns most of these characters (yeah, all the good ones)**

**A/N- If you go to my profile, I have a playlist of music I listen to as I write each chapter, go check it out!**

JACOB BLACK

"Jacob," Sam said, his voice trembled as it came out in a rush. I was mildly confused, but so out of my head that I couldn't be shocked. Nessie was sitting in my lap, and had picked up the phone and placed it on my ear because I had failed to answer after the third ring. We were both tired, and the fact that she had just finished kissing me didn't help with the whole coherency thing.

Nessie scanned my face, probably wondering why I was so loopy. Her face was so close to mine that I could feel her breathing and I heard Sam say something. I was intoxicated by the smell of Nessie, so his words were garbled, and made no sense at all. I thought I heard a snap, like a jaw clenching together.

As I leaned in for a kiss, I was shocked out of my trance by a yell, almost a bark, from the phone.

"Jacob! Jacob Black! Are you there! Talk to me!" Sam yelled, angry and urgent. That was strange. Sam rarely lost his cool about anything.

The only way he'd even come close to yelling at me would be if any of the members of our packs were about to die, or anyone he loved was in danger.

"Sam! What's wrong? What happened?" I asked. "Where do you need me?"

"I just got back from Seattle," he said.

"Oh! Did you find her?" I asked. Taha Aki's daughter, Nadia, had run off somewhere after the council meeting. It had been four days without a sight of her.

"There's no obvious reason as to why she left, but just to be safe, we're starting a search," he said.

I could understand his reaction. It had been obvious there was a bond between him and Nadia. It was almost a camaraderie, but there was too much of a parental feel between them. Of course, I could have been mistaken. I only saw them together that one night.

This required immediate action. I told Sam that I'd be there in two minutes, and shut my phone.

"What is it, Jake?" Nessie asked, confused by my concerned expression.

"Nadia's missing," I said. As usual I had given Nessie the lowdown on the last council meeting. I told her everything.

"No way! Are you going out to help them search?" she asked.

I could see what she would say next, and inhaled deeply.

I needed to get going, so I got up and took my shirt off. Her heartbeat hitched and stuttered, and I smiled down at her, seeing an opportunity to distract her from the question she was about to ask. I touched her face, feeling the blood pound behind her hard skin. I breathed on her, knowing how that would calm her down.

Her eyelids fluttered and closed, and she inhaled deeply. I didn't seem to smell bad to her like the rest of them. She found comfort in the way I smelled, like it was reassurance that I was right there. Or maybe it was just because she had grown up smelling me, and my scent had a sense of normalcy… no matter what it was, whenever she could have a hand on me, or smell me, she would calm down. Sometimes it worked better than Jasper. She suddenly opened her eyes again determination flashing deep in their milk chocolate depths, and drew in a deep breath.

"Can I come help you search?" she asked. I could see she wouldn't take no for an answer.

I sighed.

"Honestly, Jake. It's not like you can be afraid I'd get hurt, and if I could catch her scent, I might actually be an asset." She tapped her nose. "Half-vampire, remember?"

I couldn't help but smile at her. I'd always known she was like Bella, and that was one of the things I loved about her. Her Bella-like tendencies only made me love her more, because it reminded me of the time I'd spent with Bella.

I reached down and took her hand. We ran out to the front lawn of my tiny house.

I didn't think she was ready to see me undress and change into a werewolf yet-more that, I wasn't ready to be banned from the Cullen household. Again. I stepped into the trees, and heard a tiny click as she opened up her cell phone, and the tiny electric tones as she dialed a number.

After one ring, I heard Edward say, "Hello."

"Hey, dad. I'm going to be a while; I'm helping the guys with a search. I'll be back before midnight, though, I can guarantee it," She said. "If I'm not home by then, you can freak out all you want to. Just wait until midnight to do it, okay?"

I could almost hear Edward's eyes roll. "What are you searching for?"

"You remember the girl that Jacob told us about, right? The one from the legends that just showed up?" she asked.

"Yes," Edward responded.

"She disappeared. The pack is searching for her and I want to help," she said, determination ringing in her clear, singing voice.

"You can help them, Nessie, just take care of yourself, okay?" he said. Even through the phone I could hear the disapproval in his voice. He didn't like it much when Nessie ran with us.

"Okay, dad. I just wanted to call to make sure you knew."

"Thank you," he responded.

"I love you, Daddy," she said, dropping her voice. "Thanks for being so understanding about Jacob. I know it was really hard for you. Mind-reading and all."

"Hey, it wasn't that long ago when I was dealing with my own feelings for your mom. Well… not the same thing with your mom. I guess it is a completely different situation with you two, because he was around you as you grew up. I suppose it would also be different if you were the female in that situation. Aren't the males supposed to be the ones who…"

Nessie cut him off. "Dad. It's not the best time right now. You know, wolf hearing and all."

At that point I decided I'd better phase so I wasn't caught eavesdropping.

After all this time, phasing like this was so second nature I didn't even have to think about it. I let the heat shiver down my back and my body exploded, my vision was blurred for a second, and then I had to duck to keep my suddenly elevated head out of the trees.

"Talk to you at midnight, Dad," she said, and I heard her shut her phone with a snap.

I walked up and threw my head back, the motion I used to ask her to ride on my back, not that she wasn't as fast as me, if not faster, but this was a very… pleasant… position for us. She had to mount me like a horse, gripping the hair on each of my shoulders, and pressing her face into the back of my neck. She clamped her knees on my upper back, and as soon as I was sure she was secure, I started running.

I loved running like this. All I felt was wind and Nessie as I sped through the trees. To any mere human I would appear as just a blur as I navigated through the tunnel of green and brown, the only sound Nessie's heartbeat, surrounded by the smell of pine and earth. I looked down, watching my paws pound where I had worn a trail in the dirt. I had run to the clearing so many times that I could do it in my sleep. I was so lost in my trance, looking at the dirt, that I almost jumped when I felt Nessie's hand press into my face.

She was remembering earlier when I had proposed to her, as she had done many times today, and I beamed. Halfway through the memory it twisted, taking on a different light because of her intense emotions.

"Nessie," I had said as we sat outside my house that morning, "will you come for a walk with me?"

"Yes," she said. She'd been at my house for an hour, it was earlier in the morning, and the weather was perfect.

I had taken her to the beach, and sat down on the old driftwood tree, which was officially "our" tree. I had taken her hand and used it to loop her arm around my neck so our faces were only an inch apart. It was easier for both of us to talk to each other when we were touching. It felt as if some secret connection had been discovered in our touch. When I could feel her skin on mine I could tell her anything, and anything I told her she would understand.

"You are my missing piece, my other half, my soul mate, only more, and I think you know that already. But there is so much more that you don't know, and I have to try to explain.

"Before you were born, I met your mother. We were good friends, but there was always a little more to our relationship. She attracted me in an amazingly powerful way. She loved me, too, but she loved Edward much, much more, and she chose him over me.

"Of course, they got married, and I was only more attracted to her then."

"She came back from their honeymoon, pregnant, and the attraction grew stronger still. It was almost impossible for me to be away from her, and my every thought had her in it.

"You were born then…"

Nessie had interrupted, saying what I couldn't.

"You'd wanted to kill me," she stated. I didn't know that she knew that, or that she would remember.

"I didn't want to kill you." I said, and only as I'd said the words did I realize how true they were. "I wanted to kill what I thought you were. When I thought of you I didn't really picture _you_, it was always what you were doing, and I realize now that it would've happened no matter how much you did or didn't want it to. I didn't think of _you_, I thought of a cold, bloodthirsty killer. You, my Nessie, are none of those things.

"Of course as soon as I looked at you I would murder anyone who attempted to do anything to you that I didn't see fitting. From that moment on you were "My Nessie" and my whole life was about you."

"Bella and I both realized what it was that brought us together back then, and I wanted you to know."

"It was _you_. Before Bella was even pregnant, it was you. My pull to you had been so strong that it had brought me to Bella, your future mother."

"This tree was Bella's and mine before you came along, just because she would be the mother of you."

"That's how intense and potent the bond is. That's how much I love you… and… I want to be bonded to you forever."

I had gotten on my knee shakily, in front of her, and she was so tiny that our heads were almost level, even though she was now standing up. I held a tiny wooden box in my hands, and placed it on my palm so she could see it, though I didn't open it.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, will you marry me?" I had asked, not in the cheesy almost-a-statement way most people did it. I had asked a question, and she was free to answer any way she chose.

Tears were streaming down her face.

"Yes," she said, it was breathless and shaky, and her voice broke halfway through it. The word could've easily been drowned out by the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, or the wind whooshing around us, but I heard it, and it was the greatest thing I had ever heard.

I opened the wooden box and pulled out a thin silver ring. The band looked like thin vines, intertwining together, small leaves sticking out this way and that, and tiny diamonds everywhere, where the flowers would be if it were made of real vines.

"It isn't traditional, but I thought that it looked like you…" I said, self-consciously.

"It's perfect," she said in the same husky voice.

I had put it on her finger, and it _had_ looked perfect. I looked at it for a second, and then stood up, looking down at her.

"But my dad…" she said.

"Gave me his blessing a few days ago," I said, taking her hand in mine and stroking the ring now on her finger.

She beamed. A mischievous look came on her face; she wrapped one of her arms around my waist, the other clinging to my neck, and kissed me lightly, quickly, beginning to untangle herself. I held her fast.

She looked up at me, and I scooped her up, running away who-know-where. We had celebrated for the rest of the day, but no one else knew yet.

As Nessie's hand slowly from my face, she twitched, convulsed slightly, and then, to my utter horror, she started to cry.

I was worried that she was upset, or hurt, but she quickly touched my face, guessing what I thought, and explaining herself.

She was _happy._

As soon as her hand was pulled from my face, I was flooded with my pack's thoughts.

_Congrats Jake, so cool, _Embry thought.

_Yeah dude, way cool. Awesome. I can't wait to tell Claire. She'll be totally psyched! _Quil thought.

And that was it. No snide comment, no eager annoyance, just silence.

Something was very wrong.

_Where are Seth and Leah?_

_I don't know, dude, _Quil thought.

_Leah wasn't at the house when we dropped by, but Seth said he'd come in a minute. He should be here any second. He should already be phased, _Embry thought.

_Maybe he's looking for the old hag. _

_Quil, she's been better lately, and you know what she's been through. Anyone would be bitter. Give it a rest; she's part of our pack, _I thought. It wasn't a command, but it wasn't merely a suggestion either.

_Sorry, dude. You get it though, right?_

_Yeah. Leah can be difficult. That is an understatement, I know. But where could Seth be?_

It didn't look like we would have an answer tonight, so we set off looking for Nadia.

SETH CLEARWATER

I don't think there was anything I could do about this.

Leah had run off to some party-I still couldn't believe she had friends now-and Sam's howl was still echoing in the distance. I had a decision to make.

Nadia had run off. She was just gone. I had imprinted on her, and she had run away. My life was about her, and I didn't even have a chance to talk to her. That was the reason that I was sitting in my room, trying to figure this out.

I was just another abandoned Clearwater.

I didn't want the pack to know, in fact, I didn't want anyone to know. No one would be able to keep a secret… except Edward of course… maybe I'd talk to him. It didn't matter at the moment though, because there were more urgent things at hand.

So now I could either; go and attempt to cloud my thoughts to hide the fact that I'd imprinted (yeah, like that would actually work), or I could ignore Sam's call and hide.

She was gorgeous, her face was permanently stored in my mind, and she was all I saw. It was as if someone had branded her image into my brain. It was excruciating. Her big almond-shaped eyes with their tortured hazel depths, her long chestnut hair, and her big pink lips. I saw her every time I blinked. It was awful, but I couldn't let go of her face. It was impossible.

Maybe it was because my sub-conscious knew I wanted the face. Somewhere in the back of my head I was terrified to lose her face, and her voice. I was determined to hold on to her somehow.

For the first time in my life, I looked forward to my death.

I'd always seen things in black and white, either it was good or it was bad, and I knew that very well about myself, but this was no overreaction. There was nothing good about this situation.

The real problem was, this was Nadia we were looking for. I couldn't _not_ go. She could be dead for all we knew. Sam hadn't heard her when phased and called for her. Of course, she could choose not to answer, but why would she do that? So we knew nothing.

I finally understood how much of a mess Bella had been when Edward left her. I understood the searing pain in my chest around the edges of the hole, understood the way the clawing monster makes it so you can't breathe, and I most definitely understood the nightmares.

Even if she did stay, why would she want to see me? She was beautiful and elegant and powerful, and who was I? Some guy who was a descendant of her dad.

Before I could help it, before I could stop the puzzle pieces from clicking together, I realized that I might never see her again.

A sob broke from my chest, from deep within my soul.

I hadn't cried since my father died, but I had never, ever, cried like this. I lie on my bed and wept. The pain seeped out of my eyes, making it impossible to catch my breath. When I finally inhaled, it only fed the claws inside of me. They tore and pulled on the edges of the hole, grabbing at the depths of my stomach, and scraping mercilessly at the aching empty hollow of a place where my heart used to be.

I felt bad for being annoyed at Leah when she had gotten depressed when Sam left her.

I grabbed at the comforter on the bed, trying to keep the waves of pain from pulling me under. For half a second I wondered if I was dying. No, I decided, if I was dying it wouldn't be half this painful.

I sunk underneath the black water, and it boiled and crashed, scalding in some points, freezing in others. It sprayed into my chest, stinging and burning where my wounds were.

I was sprung onto the surface, coughing and sputtering, trying to breathe. I found that, I couldn't breathe anymore. My lungs had been burned in the water. I looked at where I had placed my head on my comforter and it was sopping wet. At first I thought it was the acid water, because it made my eyes burn, then I realized it was tears.

My eyes squinted shut as I realized the next wave was coming. This time I heard the voice of Nadia, calling for me from the surface.

"Seth!" it called; it was a cry for help.

I strained to answer, but my burned lungs weren't capable, and it only unleashed the claws again.

I cried out, sitting up on my bed and taking my shirt off.

I had to go help them.

I ran through the house bursting through each door so quickly I was surprised they didn't fall off the hinges. It felt like the house was getting smaller, like the walls were closing in on me. I couldn't get out of the house fast enough. The heat that usually only feathered down my spine now covered every inch of my body, and I was shaking so hard that I couldn't see anything clearly.

I finally reached the outside, the cool air of the forests surrounding me, and I exploded, faster than I ever had before.

The pain was gone.

The pain was totally gone! The burns and wounds that I had battled with for days had disappeared, and I filled my lungs with air easily and quickly. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt very at peace.

I heard a voice. It was a voice that I had been hearing for days, but this time, it was real.

_It's in the alley next to the clock tower. I can smell it. Ugh._

She was in the dark, surrounded by the smell of vampires. She was padding in circles on cold stones, planning something.

_Nadia! Nadia! What in the world? Nadia?_

_Seth! What? No!!! No!! This can't happen!!!!_ she exclaimed in shock.

She was going to phase back, she was hiding something from us.

Wait… not us… _me_.

I couldn't hear anyone else.

The last thing I saw from where she was, was the image of a stone, medieval-looking clock tower, in the middle of a square, the moonlight reflecting off of a fountain right in front of her, and I could see the long white hair of Nadia's wolf in the reflection.

Then she was gone, and the pain slowly seeped back into my chest. I took in one gulp of air, savoring the feeling, because I knew after this, all hope of breathing would be gone.

I collapsed to the ground, under the weight of the water.

**I know, I know I'm evil, you spat out a few expletives around my name... but you know you love me.**

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	7. Chap 6 Imprint

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight... but I do own Twilight action figures! (I didn't _choose_ to have them! Some things just happen, okay?!)**

NADIA

I peered into the next reeking room, and there were two young vampires in it. One of them was the one Sam had called Jane. I recognized her dully, seeing pictures in my mind that I had buried, compartmentalized because of the pain they caused. This time I harnessed the pain, working it through my muscles, allowing the rage to empower my still-human form.

I was going to have to do this without phasing. I could not alert Seth.

I was going to go for stealth, but the next picture I saw behind my lids, which were closed in concentration, pushed me over the edge.

She had glared at my mother, and sent her tumbling into the fire, to her doom.

I heard a feral snarl, a bloodthirsty, guttural thing. I jumped, and was struck with a feeling of defeat, until I realized that I had made the noise, then sunk back into my corner, focusing in on the glaring monster.

I took one deep breath, the picture still in my mind, causing everything to turn red; I poised to strike, and then hurled myself at Jane.

I grabbed her black cloak, throwing her against a wall, my face an inch from hers.

"You're going to pay." I said.

I hit the floor with a low thud, and the fiery torture that the glaring one was projecting on me cut short. I could see what had happened to my mother now, and it only made me angrier.

"Well, well. Who is this, Jane?" A man with long black hair said. He was standing in the door.

I should've been upset at how the man wasn't doing anything about my burning, because he sounded friendly enough, but then I realized there was something off in his voice.

It sounded like a concealed command.

A thick, white fog spread around me, and before I could realize what was happening, I opened my eyes, and was convulsing uncontrollably. I hadn't even made a conscious decision to open my eyes, let alone curl into a ball.

My face was in a puddle of blood on a cold stone floor. I recognized the stone from the underground walkway I had entered into the vampires' lair through.

So this was where the leeches took the people they were disposing of.

Every single muscle in my body was having spasms, and my flesh felt cold. My head felt like it was going to explode. Underneath the spasms there was this intense burning sensation, as if someone had just lit my skin on fire.

I was terrified. My throat was swelling, and closing up so I couldn't breathe. A huge wave of nausea hit after that, but I choked it back with all my might. My throat was closed up; puking probably wasn't the best idea right now.

The fire grew stronger and the spasms grew worse as I stopped breathing.

I realized I was dying, and that I was never going to make it back to the Quileute reservation.

I was surprised that, even at the point of death, my thoughts still wandered back to Seth. I was even angrier at these leeches for taking away my future with Seth than I was when they killed my parents. It was a blinding fury, which, if I could move, would govern my every action. I doubted that if I met them again I'd be able to refrain from murdering more than the killers.

I would kill every one of them if I got the chance.

I wouldn't get the chance to do any of that, because they were killing me first.

They must have bitten me, because nothing else could cause such pain.

Their bite was poison to us.

The burn was now overwhelmingly painful. I wondered where the spasms and swelling had gone, but was cut short with the sinking feeling.

I was about to die. That was the only explanation for the deep, swallowing darkness that was flooding over me.

My lungs burned for more air, but I tried, and didn't have the strength to supply them any. My ears rang louder and louder, until I couldn't hear anything else.

It was funny, up until a matter of days ago I craved death, looked forward to it, and now that I was getting it, I was heartbroken.

In my brain the face of Seth was still there, even though the darkness swallowed me, and even though my lungs sent the last signal to my brain for air before giving up.

Then, all of a sudden, the picture disappeared altogether, and I could hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing, and there was nothing. I didn't even have a body anymore.

So this was what death was like.

Black.

Dark.

Deep.

Oblivion.

ARO

"It's such a shame." I said as my hand was removed from her face.

I could hear nothing.

"I would've thought, because of her lineage, she would have survived."

I had really looked forward to having her in my collection. She would be a very unique one. It would've been interesting to see what powers she would have. She had the potential to be such a powerful tool. Oh, well. At least she hadn't been successful in killing Jane. She was my most important instrument. Fear helps people to obey swiftly, and from time to time we run into people who haven't heard of us before. Her ability shows itself so quickly and powerfully, there really isn't a need for them to know anything else before they comply with our wishes.

"I guess it was poison to her, too." I said, putting a politely disappointed face on.

EDWARD CULLEN

I was very worried about Seth. Jacob had called me, telling me why they'd called off the search the other night.

"I don't know a lot, Edward." He'd said. "All Seth told us is that when he phased, he couldn't hear us, but he _could _hear _Nadia._ She was really confused when she heard him, though, so we don't know where she is. Seth swears he never made any conscious decision to join her pack, and he seemed pretty upset. What's up with that? I'm hoping he'll talk to you, Edward. He knows more than he's telling us. He's a terrible liar."

I knew that if anything was bothering Seth, he would tell me. Keeping secrets were my forte, considering all the practice I'd had. For Seth, I would definitely keep a secret, and he knew it.

I had a hunch that what Jacob thought Seth would talk to me about, wasn't really what Seth wanted to discuss. Seth wasn't a very secretive person. He was like Emmett in that respect; he said what he thought, no filtering. It would take something big to drive him to this.

Seth had insisted that we meet outside in the forests, and that no one come with me, or him. Jacob had to tell me for him because he said I wouldn't be able to understand Seth over the phone because he wasn't loud enough. What was that about? I had talked to Seth many times on the phone and understood just fine. What had Jacob meant?

I heard a crunch in the grass, and then a familiar puff off air as Seth shifted back to his human form.

His mind was curiously blank except for a repeated, "_You can deal with the pain. You can deal with the pain. Suck it up. You can deal with the pain."_

I could see every part of Seth but his head, and he was staggering around like a drunken man. His hand clutched his chest, as if searching for something that was supposed to be there, or holding something in. He was moaning loudly as he stepped through the brush, and his other arm was angled up in such a way it looked like it was holding his head.

I gasped loudly as he stepped fully out of the trees.

The expression on his face caught me off-guard. I'd seen this face through the eyes of my family and friends, seen it from all different angles and lightings, but I'd never, ever seen it like this.

Jacob had described it as the expression a man would wear while burning at the stake.

Seth was so innocent, so pure, that the face was even more heartbreaking on him. I was confused. What could Seth have done to deserve such agony?

He looked like he hadn't slept for weeks, his hair was sticking up everywhere, and his eyes had deep purple rings under them. His face was very pale, almost sickly colored, and his hands shook furiously. His entire face was raw from crying, and I could hear him sniffling every few seconds. It was pitiful.

He sank to the ground slowly, his knees shaking so hard that his entire body was wobbling, as he started to send me pictures through his thoughts of the past week.

"You imprinted on her." I whispered, stating the obvious.

Each memory sent a sharp pain to me, as his torment grew worse and worse. His memories were very slurred because of the constant pain. He got his days and nights mixed up, and occasionally Leah would come in, offering him something to eat, comforting him, rubbing his back. She was very protective of her brother. I'd never seen this side of her before. She was kind and sweet to him, though she still didn't know what was going on with him; she was determined to wait it out. She'd taken his temperature, asked if it was about their father, who had passed away years ago, she tried to coax the answer out of him, but he wouldn't budge.

His last memory was of the pure hopelessness he felt.

His hopelessness sent a wave of determination through me. There had to be something we could do. We had to find her. We had to.

"What do I do, Edward?" He asked in a husky, broken voice. I could see now why I wouldn't be able to hear him over the phone.

"I don't know. Are you sure you didn't see anything when you phased…" I said, trailing off, not wanting to say her name, knowing it would make everything so much worse.

Seth stared up at me in shock and dull confusion.

Probably because of the expletive I'd just yelled.

In his memory of what she'd seen, there was a stone clock tower. My stomach felt heavy.

She was in Volterra.

_Nadia_, Seth's _**Imprint**_ was in _**Volterra.**_

I tried pulling Seth's hand to get him to stand up, but the other clutched frantically at his chest, and he gasped loudly.

I could see he wasn't going to make it to the house.

I picked Seth up, carrying him in my arms through the forest. I needed to talk to the others. Now.

As I approached the others, Bella, Carlisle, and Esme worried over Seth. Emmett watched close behind, the sadness on his face so pure it made him look like a child. Emmett and Seth were friends, too.

"Seth! Oh, Seth what's wrong? What happened to him, Edward? Is he going to be alright?" Bella asked, putting her hands on Seth's face. His eyes dragged open weakly at her touch, and he nodded slightly in recognition.

"Hey Bella." His wounded voice croaked.

Carlisle's hand was already feeling for broken bones or anything out of place.

Esme watched worriedly, because she was very fond of Seth, too. She loved how innocently he acted. It was like really having a child, and he was around so much, that he was like one of the family. He dully thought that they shouldn't worry about him, but it was too lost in the fog of the pain.

"Seth isn't physically hurt. He needs some sleep, but other than that, this is emotional." I explained. My entire family (even _Rosalie_) looked at me expectantly, hoping for an answer.

It was strange; Rosalie was very fond of Seth in a way she wasn't toward anyone else. Rosalie felt responsible for him, and loved him in the way his sister did. His childlikeness reminded her of how she would want her son to be, and until now it wasn't very strong. But right now, Rosalie was planning on crushing whoever had hurt Seth. She was thinking she might even break her clean record.

Alice had dragged an armchair out to the porch. Even blind, she wasn't slow, and I set Seth down in it, covering him with the afghan that was draped over the back. His eyes closed, but I knew he was still listening. I took a deep breath.

Jasper walked away from the window and into the yard at that moment, and as soon as he walked by Seth his entire face contorted because of the emotions he was getting from Seth.

He sat down next to Seth, trying to calm him desperately, but finding it difficult because the emotions were affecting him as well.

"Nadia, Taha Aki's daughter has run off, as you all know. What you probably to not know is that Seth has imprinted on her." I said, hoping that I knew how to express this in a way that wouldn't sound insensitive, but that would also show the urgency of the matter. I knew how much Aro wanted the packs.

"Seth was recently put into a position where he had to phase, and when he phased, he heard her. She was very stunned, so he could not tell where she was… but I saw a landmark through his memories that I… recognize." I said.

I felt awful having this conversation with everyone, knowing that Seth would be in more pain when he knew, and I looked at Bella, who was standing right next to me.

"It was a… clock tower." I said, losing myself in her chocolate brown eyes.

A kind of horrified recognition flickered across her face.

"Volterra." She whispered. She was the first to register that fact, but shortly afterwards the rest of my family gasped. Alice was mumbling the name over and over, like she could will it to not be true.

Seth let out a loud gasp and cried out in pain. Jasper had lost his control, and now had a tortured expression on his face.

My entire family froze, all except for Emmett.

"That. Just. Sucks." He said.

I looked at Seth's face, which was now dripping in tears.

Yes. Yes, it did.

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	8. Chap 7 Vote

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine. Twilight is Stephenie Meyer's. I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does. Comprende?**

JACOB BLACK

"What the heck do you mean, 'Nadia is in Volterra'!" I yelled. I'd just arrived, Nessie in tow, to the Cullen house.

Edward had called me, and I'd called Sam. The entire pack was assembled at the Cullen's- my how things change- and the words that we'd heard over the phone brought out a lot of different reactions.

"Seth saw something through her eyes that couldn't be anywhere else. It's Volterra," Edward said. He was grimacing like he was in pain because of the words. He didn't even know her. How could he feel that deeply about a girl he didn't know? What the heck was going on?

At the mention of Seth I looked around, trying to find him.

Someone had dragged an armchair out to the front lawn, and Seth was now in it, looking even worse than the last time I'd seen him. It didn't matter that much right now, though. There were more important things to be done.

"What do we do?" Jared asked. He was a very matter-of-fact person, and it was obvious he saw no solution to our problem.

"I don't know," Sam said, taking charge as usual in these joint pack meetings. "We all know how dangerous they are, some of us witnessed it ourselves." He immediately slipped into the pack plural for all of us in a leading voice; it was obvious he thought he was more equipped for the job.

"I think we should go teach those leeches a lesson," said Embry, slipping an apologetic look at the Cullens.

"No. Leeches is a good word for them." Bella said. Her voice was dark with hate. Her eyes were crazed, and her fists were in tight balls. Jasper sent a wave of calm throughout the circle we'd formed, and it was almost comical to watch everyone's shoulders relax, one after another. I'd thought Bella couldn't hold a grudge. Hah. Boy, had I been wrong. Well, she had the stubbornness for it.

Edward and Jasper nodded in agreement to Bella's words, as Emmett chuckled. Carlisle, in his very subtle, wordless way, let us know he did not agree.

Esme, Rosalie, and Alice all had different disgusted looks on their faces, showing their obvious dislike. I was kind of surprised to see that look on Esme's face. She was usually so compassionate, the mom.

Nessie nodded furiously, her bronze curls bouncing like springs as her head nodded up and down. We hadn't kept her in the dark. She now knew everything about the deceptive "leeches".

Embry laughed. "Leeches it is, then." he said.

"It's dangerous, but worth it. Maybe we could fight them for her." Quil said.

"If I may say something… I do not like that idea. For an army of vampires with twice your strength and two times you numbers, it would still be a suicide mission." Edward said. "Someone has to go, but I know how much Aro wants you. He would jump at any chance to kill you in "self defense", but he wouldn't start the fight. He still wants to maintain a pacifist in everyone's eyes."

He had a point. The goody-two-shoes leech had done everything he could to maintain the image of "good guy". Hadn't worked on me.

"We don't know how she got there, and what she's doing. It's not obvious she's in danger, and she's old enough to fend for herself. I say we don't go unless we get more information," Paul said.

"We have to go get her," Seth mumbled. He had his knees tucked up to his chest, and he was resting his chin on them as he rocked back and forth on the armchair. The guy was looking worse and worse by the second.

"Edward seems to know a lot about these "royal" peeps. I say we lay low and wait for it. If she needs help, she's smart, she'll be able to figure out how to contact us," Connor said. As much as I tried to deny it, Connor's attitude was almost identical to how mine was when I met Bella.

Now, after everything I'd been through, I knew that leaving her to fend for herself there wasn't an option. No one gets left behind, even a new addition. Plus- the kid was a depressed mess.

"I don't know what we should do… but engaging the Volturi in a fight isn't going to end well. Either we'll all be dead, or end up guard dogs," I said. I cringed at the word dog. I didn't mind being called a guard dog once before, because I was protecting the Cullens. The idea of protecting and fighting for those leeches was so repulsive, I felt like I was getting sick.

"We have to go get her," Seth mumbled, sounding desperate and angry.

"I think it's our duty to go get her," Leah said in a soft but firm voice. I'd never seen her like this before. She was quiet, and actually acting nice. This was how I remembered her acting before Sam had left her.

"We have to go get her," Seth said, burying his face in his knees.

"I agree with Paul," Brady said.

"As much as I do not like to leave her there, I also think that Paul's reaction is the most logical," Sam said, looking very resolved.

"We have to go get her," Seth pleaded brokenly. His eyes welled up with tears as he looked up at us. He was shaking. The circles under his eyes, the black color of them, and paleness of his face made him look like a thirsty vampire. His face was even more pained than the last time I'd seen him, and he clutched his chest. Some memory was trying to come back to me, but I just couldn't seem to focus on it long enough. So much was going on.

"Seth, what is your problem? We'll send someone, somehow," Quil said.

"No. We have to all go get her. We have to go get her and we have to do it now." He said, his face now soaked in tears. If I hadn't seen him before when he was only half this bad, I wouldn't recognize him now.

"Seth. Calm down. Don't be so irrational. Just think this through. We aren't going to leave without some planning. It's unnecessary. What's your deal?" Jared said.

"Yeah Seth, cool it," Connor agreed.

"NO! NO! You guys don't get it do you? We have to go! We have to! She's my _IMPRINT!"_ he yelled before bursting into heart-wrenching sobs.

I found my face suddenly hot, and very wet. I instinctively put my arm around Nessie, pulling her into my chest.

As I looked around with my bleary eyes, I saw that everyone who had an imprint was crying silently.

Of course, Leah wasn't crying like the rest of us.

She was bawling.

"Well that changes everything. We have to go," Paul said, wiping the tears off his face.

"Yeah. Completely," I said.

"May I say something?" Emmett said in a polite, subdued tone.

"Yes," Sam said.

"Let's go kick some Volturi _butt!" _He yelled, rubbing his knuckles in fake preparation.

There were a few "Yeah!"s an high fives. Embry knuckle-bumped Emmett-before rubbing his hands with a mouthed "ow".

Sam was staring out into the forest, his face blank, and all signs of compassion were gone from his face.

"We still can't go. It's too dangerous," He stated, in a very final tone.

"What do you mean, "we still can't go"? How can you say that?" Leah questioned in disbelief.

Everyone went silent. You could've heard a pin drop. Leah never stood up to Sam. Leah never felt anything but love towards Sam. It just didn't happen. My jaw hung open at the challenging tone in Leah's voice. I hadn't respected Leah for anything in a long time, but this made her honorable in my eyes. No one was going to stand up to Sam. Even _I _was afraid of standing up to Sam, and I was an Alpha.

"It's too dangerous. I'm not going to put us in danger that way. Too risky," Sam said, once he'd gotten over the shock. My jaw shut very slowly, and I looked down at Renesmee. Her mouth was open in a small "o".

"You can't possibly say that! She's his imprint! He imprinted on her! You can't be serious!" she yelled.

Leah stepped toward him, glaring at him with an intensity that amazed me. I'd never seen an emotion half this sincere from Leah. Ever.

"You heard what Edward said. You heard it all. You've seen it all. It's _too__** risky.**_ I'm not going to do this."

"NO Sam! You HAVE to do this. What would you do if it was _Emily_ in Volterra?"she yelled, he looked very vulnerable, shocked by her question. His eyes soon hardened, and when he spoke his words sounded fierce and passionate, through his gritted teeth.

"Two things. First, if Emily went to Volterra, it would still be a suicide mission, and she wouldn't _want _me to go, and second, yes I'd go anyways."

"But you _wont _let them go! It's Seth imprint, and you WONT LET THEM!!!" she screeched, balling her fists up like she was trying not to attack him.

"It's too dangerous. We aren't risking all of our lives because of the off chance that we might actually be able to save ONE!"

"I'm so ashamed of you Sam. I spent the past eight years of my life depressed because you left me. I'm so ashamed that YOU are what I was broken-hearted about. What happened to the Sam I knew? What happened to the Sam I loved?" Leah said, her voice soft, and I felt that respect coming back again. Her pose was relaxed, and her face was crumpled up in denial. She'd wasted over a decade on Sam, and she was seeing the cold, hard truth.

Sam wasn't the perfect guy she thought he was.

Sam went silent for a long time, staring at the floor, then whispered, "My decision remains the same."

"Sam, this is much too big of a situation for you to control by yourself. I think we should hold a council meeting," I said, trying to stop the fight.

Again, I saw that I was different than I had been eight years ago. When I was sixteen I wouldn't have tried to put an end to the fighting, I would have relished it.

I looked over at Seth, and saw Jasper sitting next to him. Seth still had his knees pulled up into his chest, and was rocking back and forth on the chair. His eyes were unfocused, and his face was still frozen in a grimace. I finally saw through the past few days, and his depression. The truth hit me-it hit me hard.

The thing I'd been trying to remember earlier, about the way he was sitting when I walked up.

He'd had his arms wrapped around his chest.

Just like Bella.

A hundred different pictures, some moving, some still, came at me all at once.

I saw Bella, rocking back and forth, balled up on the beach, gazing out at the foaming surf. Her head was between her knees, her hair glinting in the sunshine, and I heard her incoherent groaning. She probably didn't even know she was groaning, but she was.

I saw Bella, coming apart in my Rabbit, choking out Edward's name like it burned her throat to say it. She had her arms wrapped around her chest, as if to hold the pieces together.

I saw Bella holding herself as she told me the twisted truth about the scar on her hand. She was spitting it out through her teeth as she held her chest so hard her arms turned even whiter than normal.

The last vision startled me.

I saw Leah. She was staggering around my house, looking for me. She was asking if I would come help look for Sam. I had only just turned fourteen, and when I asked if Sam was okay, her arms had constricted around her chest, and her entire face had contorted under the crushing weight of the pain she was in.

"I hope so." She had said, in that soft, firm voice that had only just returned a few minutes ago. "I really hope he is."

I opened my eyes, realizing they had been closed, to see Leah's expression on Jasper.

"This is what it would be like to lose Alice." He whispered, looking at the fabric of the chair.

A tear slid from my eye, and I knew he was right.

We had all gathered at the normal meeting point, to consider the options laid before us. The entire council was there, and we had decided to take a vote. The decision was obviously not going to be unanimous.

"Sam?" my father asked.

"No. The Cullens have already stated it would be a suicide mission. I will not have it."

"Paul?"

"No. I agree with Sam."

"Jared?"

"No."

"Embry?"

"Yes. We have to. She's Seth's IMPRINT for crying out loud! What's wrong with you people…"

"Embry! That's enough," my father scolded.

Embry's face had turned beet red during his rant, and slowly the extra blood drained from his face as he sat down on the damp bench.

"Jacob?"

"Yes. It's our duty," I said solemnly.

"Quil?"

"I… no. I couldn't afford to die now. Claire is only nine. I can't leave her now. Sorry, Seth. She's my imprint," he said, and I saw his point there, though I did not agree with it.

"Leah?"

"Yes. We have to. She's his imprint, and Taha Aki's daughter. We have to," she said, and my father's shock stopped the voting for a second. He saw the change. He probably saw it more than I did. He'd watched her grow up.

A warm smile spread across Dad's face, and he turned to the next person.

"Brady?"

"Yes. If it was Maddie, I would want the pack to come with me."

"Connor?"

"Yes."

"Quil?" he asked, turning toward the wrinkly old man sitting by his side.

"No. Too dangerous. Too risky. Can't do it."

"Sue?" he asked.

Sue and Rachel were being allowed to vote, I noticed.

"Yes. My son cannot go alone," She said, her eyes full of tears.

"Rachel?"

"No," she said, I wasn't surprised. Rachel had always been selfish.

"Nessie?"

"Who would we be, if we didn't go? The Volturi are powerful, indeed, but if approached correctly, we may be able to save Nadia," she said, using the pack plural. I was in awe of how just she was.

Billy gazed at Nessie for a second, nodding in agreement. His vote was decided.

"We seem to have a tie," Billy said.

All the eyes in the clearing focused on Emily. She was the only one here important enough to be the tiebreaker. My heart sank. She would go with Sam.

She seemed to focus for a second, her eyebrows furrowing. She gazed at Leah, her expression hopeful at the same time apologetic. She steadied herself, and wrapped her arm around Sam's waist.

"Not going, is not who we are," she stated firmly.

Leah smiled at Emily, tears filling her eyes, and Seth gasped.

"Thank. You," he choked out, tears streaming down his face, before he started sobbing.

"Thank you," I said, walking over to stand by Leah and Seth.

Nessie beamed at Emily.

It was decided.

We were going to Volturi.

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	9. Chap 8 Planning

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own them, yet I write about them. Wierd, right?**

BELLA SWAN

I sat on the couch in the very corner of the room, next to Renesmee. She was very preoccupied, so I figured that Jake had already popped the question. I knew he wouldn't wait. He could never wait for anything.

She just sat next to me silently, until Edward walked into the room.

I still -even in my immortal beauty- feel very plain and normal standing next to Edward.

He stood in the center of the room, looking towards me with his liquid topaz eyes. They smoldered, just like they always did, and I felt the sensory deprivation that comes when you stop breathing. I remembered how, when we had first met, I would pass out during his kisses. I hadn't been able to hold my breath. Now I just couldn't smell. I still reacted though my heart couldn't speed up, I couldn't blush, and I was able to go indefinitely holding my breath, my reactions to Edward were still very noticeable.

His perfectly sculpted body was what my nights were about. I spent hours praising it, though I've never found his body quite as magnificent as his heart.

Understanding Edward is one of the many things that make me grateful I have forever, because I'm sure it will take centuries on centuries for me to halfway comprehend the workings of his mind.

"Daddy," Renesmee whispered, then shot herself across the room, grabbing onto Edward's waist in a hug. Her face was buried in his chest.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, jumping up and down while still holding him in a death grip, vibrating against him, making him laugh.

"Calm down. You're starting to look like Alice! What did I do that made me the subject to all this hugging?" he asked jokingly. As if he actually didn't know.

"I can't believe it! I can't believe you're actually going to let me marry Jake!" she said, letting go of him and smiling a tooth-filled smile. She was jumping up and down, and then launched herself at him again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Everyone started surrounding Edward and Renesmee, and I chuckled. Vampire hearing was a very powerful thing. People rarely kept any secrets in this household.

Jasper and Alice were out, so it would be a little easier to deal with the family for the moment.

"I'm getting married," she said, as if she herself couldn't believe it. She stared at her hand.

A beautiful ring was on her finger, it was silver, and it looked like a vine. The ring was so intricate in its design; I wondered how Jacob had paid for it. Once in a while Emmett, Edward, or I would hand him one of our many wads of cash so he could get himself decent food-Emmett wasn't much of a cook- clothes, a computer, auto parts, etc. I wondered how many wads he had saved to get Nessie's ring.

There were several vines on the ring, intertwining with each other, sprinkled with diamonds. It looked perfect on Nessie's finger; the ring suited her, just as much as my ring suited me.

She was bursting with pride as she showed the family her ring, still beaming at Edward as everyone smiled at her.

JACOB BLACK

The packs were on the move.

We were going to the Cullens' to plan our ambush on the Volturi, I still couldn't see how we were supposed to do it, but having the Cullens to plan with was going to give us an advantage.

Of course, we still couldn't hear Seth. He had somehow joined his imprint's pack. I think it's because he was focusing on her when he phased, so he automatically joined her pack, or maybe imprints have to be in the same pack if they're both wolves, who knows. Whatever it was, Seth had to stay right by us when we were running, so we knew where he was.

His sobbing had turned to blazing determination when we had started to talk about going to Volterra. I'd never seen him wish for someone's death before. Seth had always enjoyed a fight, but he always felt bad when he thought about killing them. The look I saw in his eyes was so furious, so deadly that there was no question what he would do to any member of the Volturi he could get his hands on. It would be a crazed killing spree.

As my feet hit the damp earth, making a thumping sound, I concentrated on the pattern the sound made. _Thump thump thump-thump, thump thump thump-thump. _The smell of pine, the constant dripping of rain on the umbrella the treetops made above us, the cold wetness of my paws, the burning of muscle, it was all very familiar, comforting. It was the only normalcy I'd had through the past eight years. So much changed constantly, yet that stayed the same.

I closed my eyes, following the trail of my scent toward the Cullen's house, feeling the pull of Nessie getting stronger the closer I got. Leah was in the background of my head; she was silently contemplating what had just happened at the tribal meeting. She had so many questions, and there was only one that I could answer.

_You did the right thing, Leah. You're the only one whose head Sam wouldn't chop off for standing up to him. He feels bad for what he did to you; you know that._

_I know, I just… he changed. I'm not stupid, I never have been. He was once worthy of love. He's different now. He doesn't deserve someone like Emily. She's Seth's _imprint_! He owes it to me. He owes it to my family name to go. We both know the power imprinting has on people. How could he vote NOT to go??_

_I agree. I don't know what Sam was thinking. I do know that Sam _isn't_ bad_. _He's been a great leader, and made really good choices. I wouldn't go as far as "not worthy" of Emily. I think, in this circumstance, Emily merely made the right choice, and Sam didn't. He's been there for all of us, even you. You have to admit that. He must know that it's the right thing to go, but he's too confused by his loyalty to the tribe._

_Yeah. But, I was wrong. I am an idiot. How could I let losing him torture me for that long? I'm not going to be depressed over him any longer. That has to end. Seth is handling it better than I did. He is trying not to get in people's way, and he was worrying about _me_ being unhappy when he was in pain. I just took it out on the people around me, trying to make them miserable to make myself feel better. I won't hate Sam, but I don't love him either. Not anymore. _

_Notice that I didn't say that I thought you weren't stupid. Does this mean you're back? _I replied.

_Yeah. Yeah, I'm back. I don't think I'm going to make that mistake again._

The thudding of our paws changed, grew muffled, as we stepped into the Cullen's front lawn.

I trotted back into the trees and shifted back to my human form, stretching my back out and pulling my jeans from the leather cord.

I put them on, and walked quickly into the Cullen house.

Nessie was sitting on the edge of the piano's platform next to Alice, and it looked like they were deep in conversation, so I automatically took a step back. I heard Edward chuckle, though and grew curious. I hovered by the kitchen where Emmett was trying to cook, and listened in on Alice and Nessie talking.

"So… Alice. I was wondering. I need a favor."

"I'm game. Shoot."

"No, Alice, you really should think twice before accepting this big of a burden. I don't even know if I can ask this of you."

Now Alice was wary. "What is it, Nessie?" she asked, her voice flat.

"I need you… oh, lord, no I can't do it," Nessie said. I'd never heard her this grave and serious before, it concerned me.

"Nessie spit it out!" Alice yelled.

"I… oh Alice I cannot bear to burden you like this, I loathe to ask."

"What is it Nessie?" Alice asked, her voice soft. She looked worried now.

"I need you to do my wedding." She said.

I turned around so I was facing them, so I could see Alice's reaction. I was pretty sure that this was how Nessie was telling this to Alice and Jasper. She must've told the rest of the family, though, because they didn't react.

Alice's face lit up, and she just about shook with excitement, she shrieked and clapped her hands. Then, just as quickly, she became furious.

"Crap! I hate being blind!"

She soon cooled off and grabbed Nessie's hand; examining the ring I'd given her very carefully.

"Wow, there's so much opportunity there. I've got to give Jake some credit for that one. The ring is gorgeous. So, when do you want it?"

If I had to only worry about what I wanted, I'd butt in and say tonight. It was hard, doing things the old fashioned way, especially when you were this in love. I was, like, stupid in love. I couldn't even think straight. I remembered thinking that mushy-gushy Edward and Bella were crazy, but they were nothing compared to me.

I was a doofus.

"Two weeks, a month tops." And apparently Nessie was, too.

"No way! We have to make everything perfect! You cannot just come here and say, "Alice, I need a decent wedding in a month." Are you insane? I won't even have time to find a dress, let alone put the entire wedding together. Are you out of your mind?"

I distinctly felt the torrent of sereneness Jasper aimed full speed at Alice, and saw her jaw shut with an audible snap as the calm helped her resolve her problem.

"Nessie, honey, I know that you and Jake are in love…" she trailed off when I interrupted her.

"Stupid in love. We're doofuses."

"Yeah, yeah, you're doofuses. I like that word. It fits." The acid was coming back into her voice. "But, you can't rush these things. It takes time to put a wedding together. I know that it must be hard doing things properly and all, I can't even imagine how hard, but I just can't put a wedding together in a month. I need more time."

Nessie seemed to chew on that for a minute, and then her eyes lit up,

"No." Edward whispered disapprovingly, and Nessie let out an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, alright Alice. How long will it take?" Nessie said, resignedly.

"Three months."

"Three. Whole, Months. _Gosh_, that's a long time,"

"I really would think you'd be more mature about this, it's not like you guys are gonna get old and wrinkly. You guys are acting crazy."

"Stupid," Nessie agreed.

"Complete and total doofuses," I said with a stupid grin, walking over to sit next to Nessie.

"I'm going to go get to work," Alice sighed happily.

She skipped up the stairs, with Jasper close on her tail.

I leaned in to kiss Nessie, she reached up to twine her arms around my neck, I took a deep breath, and leaned in…"So, Jake," Edward started in a booming voice, and at that I was scrambling to the dining room table where he was talking.

"Yeah?" I asked, panting.

"Oh, nothing." He said, with a giant smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes at how smug he looked, and turned toward the kitchen. That had _so_ been planned.

"What _is_ that, Emmett? It looks like burnt dog food," Leah said, looking into a smoking pan Emmett was holding. Leah coughed, and fanned the air by her face with her hand.

"It's _supposed_ to be apple pie. I guess I didn't make it quite right."

"I can see it now "Uncle Emmett's homemade apple pie. Our motto: so burnt you can't taste the apple… or the crust… or the pie. Pick it apart and pelt your neighbors, kill the birds, also great for your compost pile. For ash-lovers everywhere. Warning: may not be edible, or suitable for consumption in any way,"" Leah said.

"Ha. Ha. You're in a good mood today."

"Yeah," she said in an awed voice. "Yeah, I am."

"Okay, then, Mrs. Happy."

"Guys, come in here. I think it's almost finished," Edward said.

"What's almost finished?" I asked.

"The map."

We surrounded the large dining table where Edward and Carlisle were leaning over a huge piece of paper. I stood next to Carlisle, looking at the "map". I felt a smile spread across my face.

It _was_ a map.

A map of Volterra.

BELLA SWAN

Carlisle and Edward had made a map of Volterra from memory, with separate blueprints of every room, and some rooms and different entrances to the Volturi lair were labeled, and all of the rooms had their purpose written in the lower left-hand corner. Every inch of Volterra was now on paper, and its reason described in detail.

We weren't letting the pack go unarmed.

When I really thought about it, I didn't think we were letting the pack go at all. It was a suicide mission, and we couldn't let them do that. Maybe it was just me. I knew all of these people so well, they still seemed like kids to me. They were family. I couldn't let them go to Volterra. I'd have a meltdown. Could vampires lose their mind? After seven years of being one I still did not know.

"Wow, how did you guys make this?" Seth asked, in awe of their vast knowledge.

"We made it as best we could from memory." Carlisle said, as Edward wrote something on one of the blueprints. Edward had a look of satisfaction on his face as he dropped the pencil.

"Done," he said, quite proud of himself.

"How did you make this? You've been to Volterra, what, once?" Jacob questioned.

"You guys still don't know about Carlisle, do you?" I asked.

"Not really," Seth answered.

"Come on," I said, exited. "I'll show you."

I hadn't realized I was quoting the very words Edward had used with me, on the first day I really met the Cullens, until I heard him chuckle. I smiled toward him, and kept my breathing even, while Jake, Seth, and Leah looked at me questioningly.

I sped up the staircase, very pleased with myself. I'd spent the first few years of my vampire life documenting my human one, making sure that anything I was in danger of forgetting, was written down-especially the time of my human life I'd spent with Edward. I'd described everything that happened to me in detail, it was almost sick how many journals I'd went through.

One of my most treasured memories was my first trip to our house. I remembered Carlisle's life story in detail, and the memories only grew brighter as I stepped into his spacious study. The deep wood tones of the walls and the many hundred books didn't look any different, despite the numerous years.

There were many times in this new life I'd had to come here, asking Carlisle questions about things I was sure only he would understand. This room had become comforting, where my problems were solved.

With the aging and distance of my own father, Carlisle had slowly taken his place.

Leah, Jake, and Seth weren't all new to this room; they'd been in here too. I pointed towards the wall to their backs, motioning for them to turn.

"Carlisle grew up in the sixteen-fifties in London." I said, pointing at the first picture.

"His father was an Anglican pastor, Carlisle was his only son, and his mother died while giving birth to him. Carlisle's father was a very bigoted man. He believed very strongly in the existence of evil beings, as many did back then. He led hunts for many mythical creatures, including vampires.

"His father wasn't very careful in his work, and a lot of innocent people were burned, but he soon grew old, and put Carlisle in charge."

Jake's brow furrowed, and Seth looked incredulous. I hadn't noticed, but it did seem strange that Carlisle was leading a mob to kill what he would someday become. I found it hard to believe Carlisle would kill anyone even in a different life.

"The people didn't like him at first. He was very just and wasn't quick to accuse. He eventually found a coven of real vampires, who were living in the sewers below the city, coming out only at night to feed. When everyone believed they existed, and they were not things of fairy tales, that was the way many had come to live.

"They attacked-pitchforks, torches, and all-with Carlisle leading them.

"The first one to emerge must've been very thirsty and weak. He called out to the others, and turned to attack. He got Carlisle first. As the others approached, he turned to defend himself, and left Carlisle, bitten, lying in the streets.

"He knew that anything that had been infected would be burned, so he hid in a cellar during the transformation. It is very hard to stay quiet during that time, I know that very well. I'm sure it was difficult for Carlisle to stay quiet while he was burning, especially when he didn't know what was happening to him.

"After he realized what he was, he knew he was a menace, a monster. He tried to commit suicide, which, as you know, is virtually impossible for us.

"He was so disgusted with what he'd become, he had the strength to attempt suicide by starvation. Of course, that only makes us weaker, and more susceptible to temptation, but how was he to know that?

"He realized he was growing weak, and his self control was crumbling, so he stayed as far away from the human populace as he could.

"One day a herd of deer passed where he was hiding. He was so weak with thirst that his instinct got the better of him, and he attacked. He grew strong again, and he realized there was another option. He didn't have to be a monster. So our philosophy was born.

"He started taking advantage of his time. At night, he studied, and by day he planned. Then he swam to France." I paused, waiting for them to react.

It would've made me feel better, considering my reaction when Edward had told me this, if they had shown some sort of surprise or shock.

"And?" Seth asked, beckoning to the wall.

I sighed. I could hear Edward laughing on the first floor.

I turned toward the large picture of Carlisle with the Volturi, opening my mouth to continue the story when Jacob interrupted.

"What the heck????" Jacob exclaimed incredulously, staring at the large painting of Carlisle with the Volturi. He'd just realized who the blond haired man was.

"What was he _doing _there? Were they holding him hostage or something?" Seth asked.

"Nope. Carlisle lived with them for some time while he was studying at the universities there. He admired their civility. Now, you should know, he didn't live like them. He futilely tried to sway them from their murderous lifestyle, as they tried to convince him to live as they did.

"I think you all know the rest of this story." I concluded.

Their faces were all awestruck; they looked at the painting with new eyes. I hoped they saw the nobility I saw in the task Carlisle had so eagerly taken on. Attempting to change the Volturi. Only Carlisle.

We all grew quite alert as we heard the front door swing open.

"Hello, Carlisle," Sam's deep, rumbling voice said.

JACOB BLACK

We all gathered around the table, all eighteen of us, and planned our attack on the disgusting leeches.

"I say we all go, and take them down, but that's just me," Embry said.

"If I may say something, my specialty is war, and this would be a suicide mission even if you had an even chance. Going at them head-on is just what they will anticipate. I suggest that someone they know-one of us for example-go to Volterra for a visit," Jasper said, "That way we'll have someone on the inside. Whoever goes could figure out where they have her."

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, and I checked the caller I.D. It was foreign, so I figured it was probably someone with the wrong number, or a solicitor.

"Carlisle is the one who is least likely to get attacked," Rosalie added.

"Yes, I could go. That seems pretty harmless." Carlisle agreed.

"Is it really necessary for you to go alone? Can't all of us go together?" Esme asked, her brows furrowing in worry.

"All of us being in Volterra together, all at once, would gather much more attention, and we'd be more likely to get hurt. We'd all be more vulnerable. Plus, you know that it isn't a good idea to have Alice, Edward, or Renesmee in Volterra." Bella said. I could see she had a point. She'd always been the most perceptive one.

"We should go," Carlisle said, with Esme's hand in his. "I don't think Aro would harm me, especially if we're just there for a visit."

My phone buzzed again, and I checked it briefly. It was the same number as before.

"No. No. None of us can go. We can't go. Ugh!" Seth said.

I was starting to wonder about his sanity. She was supposed to be his imprint, how could he be saying we can't go???

"What?" I asked, incredulous. He couldn't mean that. It was insane.

"Aro! Mindreading! Can we say obvious??? I doubt that Carlisle could avoid touching Aro without raising any suspicions."

"Nice save." Edward chuckled, bumping Seth's knuckles with his own.

"But…none of us can go? I see a problem with that. That leaves us with the direct approach. That's not going to be pretty," Leah said, wincing.

My phone buzzed in my pants, and I didn't even bother to check this time. It would be the same number, for sure.

"He can read all of our minds, we can't go. The slightest touch and BANG, we're dead," Connor said, spreading his arms wide, imitating an explosion.

"I know one mind he can't read."

I recognized the tone of voice and expression Bella used so well. I recognized it from the months we had hid our motorcycles from Billy and Charlie. She very much enjoyed stealth work, and I could tell from the look on her face, that she had a plan.

"You're not going alone, Bella." Edward's face was dripping in disapproval.

My phone made that irritating buzz again, and I started contemplating turning it off.

"You'd come with me, naturally. We'd want to be able to anticipate when he would touch you, so I can shield you, and know what's going on there. I can't exactly go sleuthing around Volterra unnoticed. All you'd have to do is be there."

A wide smile spread across Edward's face, and I could see him beginning to like her plan.

"We'd go there to "patch things up" between our families, apologizing for our "unruly" behavior with the whole Renesmee situation, and you'd pick their brains for information the entire time. I can spread my shield over you if they try to harm you with their gifts, you'd know a second beforehand. It's fool-proof."

"So, Edward and Bella are going to Volterra," Sam stated, before my phone rung again.

I pulled it out of my pants, trying not to crush it with my oversized hands.

"Hello!!!" I yelled, irritated.

"Jacob?? Jacob Black, is that you?" a ringing voice whispered.

"Uh… yeah."

"It's Nadia."

"NADIA????????" I screamed, everyone in the room was frozen, their eyes focused on the phone I held in my hand.

"Yes, yes it's Nadia, please don't talk so loud, you're on speaker, and I don't know where they are," she whispered.

"What's going on???"

"I'm being followed. I made my way halfway through France, and I need some help. No matter what I do, I can't seem to shake them. Demetri's following me. I think Felix and Jane are with him, too. I need some help. I don't know how to get rid of them."

"Why are you running? What did they do to you?"

"Lots of things. You can't even imagine how painful it was. I don't have time to explain. I need help, now," her ringing voice said.

"Umm. How do I get back to you? I don't recognize the number…"

"I stole a cell phone, and the battery is almost dead. I need to go, so I'll have enough left to call you later, to tell you where I am. I'll call you tomorrow, please talk to the others and come up with a plan, send someone or something. I can't get them off my tail."

"I'll try."

"Thank you."

All I heard after that was the dial tone.

I closed my cell phone, putting it in the pocket of my pants.

"This… changes things," I said.

"I have to go get her," Bella said. I did not miss the fact that she didn't say we. She said I.

"No. NO. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not. No," Edward said, scolding her like a young child.

"Think about it, Edward. I can't shield you all the way there, and two people all the way back, I'm good, but not that good. I have to go alone. Demetri won't be able to find us once I cover her. I know it is true. You said it yourself. They're blind if they don't have him to lead them."

"I still don't like the idea of you meeting her, while she's on the run from the Volturi, alone. It isn't safe."

"What do you propose we do? Leave her there to die? Or worse, be captured by them and be used for a guard dog, or an example, or an experiment! I have to go! You know I'll be safe. It's my decision," Bella said.

Edward looked like he was about to protest, but gave up.

Bella looked contented, and Renesmee smiled at her proudly.

The world seemed to be turned back upside down again, after six years of serene happiness and our only troubles being trivial, we finally got a dose of bad luck again. The Volturi wouldn't give up just because they lost her trail. They could follow her scent, though they would probably forget about her for a year or two. This got things started again, and I wasn't particularly happy about it.

At least I wasn't heartbroken like I had been when this stuff was happening with Edward and Bella before I imprinted. At least I had Renesmee, leaning against me, her arms around my waist, her face pressed into my bare chest.

Things didn't seem all that bad.

My phone buzzed again, and I picked it up immediately, holding it to my ear.

"Talk to me," I said. But the voice was not the one I expected.

"Jacob! Jacob, something's wrong with dad. I found him, and he fell. I don't know what's going on, he says he's really dizzy. I think he maybe had a stroke. He doesn't look too good. I can't move him by myself, and he keeps saying "put me back down" when I sit him up. Please! Jake! I need help. I don't know what to do with him."

My sister's voice was panicked and worried, she sounded choked up, and I could hear her sobbing on the other end of the phone.

"I'll get over there as soon as I can," I said.

I put the phone back in my pocket.

"Carlisle, can you…" I trailed off, seeing he wasn't in the room anymore.

He came back down, a blur of white, with things in his arms, ghosting towards the garage.

"I'll be there in three minutes, Jacob, I have to pack my equipment."

Nessie grabbed my arm, and pulled me towards the door.

"I'll drive," she said.

My eyes filled with tears as I sat in her car, as Nessie got in.

I pulled her into my lap for a second, as I cried; my sleeve was soon wet with her tears, also.

Things kept getting more complicated than we planned.

**So... do you love me again, or am I still hated? Hehe. I know. Until the end, you probably will hate me. **

**I am again going to cry out to the many writers who read me, who are older than me (for those of you who haven't checked my profile, I'm only in 7th grade). Please, spread word! Blog, favorite, and write in forums, anything! I love hearing from my fellow Twilighters and love hearing about what people think of my work.**

**Please review, anonymous reviews are welcome, you don't need to have an account; just no spam, please. It is really great motivation to continue writing when you hear what people think of your writing. Thanks, guys!**


	10. Chap 9 Stories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do not own Twilight. I do not own Twilight. I do not own Twilight. I do not own Twilight. I do not own Twilight. I do not own...**

BELLA SWAN

The scent of vampires was everywhere, I couldn't just ignore it. Tracking her was more difficult than planned, because I couldn't follow her scent. It was gone in the strange scent of the others.

I called her, telling her that I couldn't follow her scent to where she was, and she informed me that I was near where she was, and that she'd call me when the timing was right.

So here I sat, on a park bench in Nantes, France just waiting for Nadia to call me. I focused on the dim light of late evening filtering through the tree that sheltered me. The bubbling music of the fountain behind me filled my ears, along with the sound of insects buzzing, and the clomping of human footsteps.

A small boy had sat next to me earlier in the day, fidgeting with his cardboard baby book. His eyes were big and blue, and he had a curious character. Everything I told him he would answer with "Why?" His silky blond hair constantly shook as he vibrated in his seat. He sat there eating animal crackers as he watched for the first sign of the moon in the clear day.

He was probably only three. He'd told me in his baby-words that his mother came here to "takes the pretty pictures". She was a photographer, and they were tourists from "Mefis". His mother informed me that they'd flown in from Tennessee a few nights ago, and she was taking pictures of the smaller cities first. Because "I'm sure to be bored with the rest of the country once I hit Paris."

I'd sat there, while he asked me questions. "Pitty lady, why do the beeses haves to sting people? It not nice at all. It really, really hurt my bottom at home, when one stunged me. I accidittaly…" he rambled on in his soft, comforting voice. I was pretty sure that if he weren't there to entertain me those two hours, I would lose my mind dwelling on Nadia.

He was such a sweet little boy, and was very intelligent for a human child, but his mother soon told him they had to go, and his little blue eyes welled up with tears.

"But, mommy! Dla buttabye! Dla buttabye! He flying! I wlant to stay and see dla bluttabye! The beeses hurts him, big owies and no sorries mommy! I no go away yet! I stay here with bluttabye and beeses and my pitty lady! I no go away! I sleep on the bench next to pitty lady, mommy!"

But they went, she said she had to have at least two or three hours to take pictures somewhere else before in grew dark.

So I sat on the bench, staring at the phone, as if focusing on it would somehow force it to ring.

France was just as busy and beautiful as I had always dreamed it would be, but instead of feeling like a dream come true, it had the feel of a nightmare. The Volturi were here somewhere, and if they saw me, all was lost. Edward and I had been talking about taking a vacation to see the artwork here, but the magical feeling that captured me when I thought of France was gone. Now there was an uneasy feeling in its' place. It was a feeling of paranoia. I constantly felt like I was being watched.

My cell said it was four, and I saw the moon appear in the light blue sky. I shifted; sitting on the edge of the park bench so the light wouldn't touch any part of my skin. No one was around, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

I was in designer jeans and a white tee, with flip-flops on. They would be the easiest to work with, because I could slip the flip-flops off and put them in my bag when I needed to run quickly. I had a zip-lock bag folded up small, in my jeans pocket. I could also put my cell phone in it if I needed to swim.

Just as I was about to walk off, my phone vibrated in my hand. I snapped it open quickly and carefully, trying very hard to make my voice sound sane as I answered, "Hello?"

"Bella, it's Nadia. I have a good hiding place. I'm in Caen. It's fairly small, and I'm behind the only shoe store the town has, so you should be able to find me," she said in hushed whispers.

Her voice sounded scared, cautious. My heart immediately went out to her; she had just lost her father, found out he was a completely different person than she thought he was, and now she was running from psychotic royal vampires.

"I think I'm pretty close, I'll be there soon. Five minutes at most. It'll still be light out for half and hour, they won't be able to start searching for you openly until then."

"Yeah, right, I have to reserve the rest of the cell phone's battery for emergency calls, so I'll see you then," she said, it almost sounded like she was choking.

"Bye Nadia," I said before I snapped the phone shut and shoved it deep into my pocket.

I knew the place she was talking about from when I'd studied the maps of France earlier, and knew exactly where she was.

I hurried through the streets of Nantes, my speed was somewhere in-between fast running for a human and slow running for a vampire. It drove me crazy to keep up a fairly human running pace when Nadia was waiting for me.

I was careful not to attract any attention to myself, trying to make my movements messy and slow, remembering how I'd moved as a human. I still could not make myself look sloppy, and didn't succeed at not drawing attention to myself.

A teen fell over the curb by one of the stores, into the grass, and her books scattered around her. She stood up awkwardly, having to catch and steady herself twice, and brushed the grass off the back of her jeans. When she looked at me, it was a wistful look. She let out a resigned sigh and reached down to pick up her books. I saw her shoot another envious look at me before I turned the corner and lost sight of her.

_Yeah. I know the feeling, _I thought.

I went back into an alleyway, where I could run at a faster pace, and sped down the road in the direction of Caen. I thought I knew the store Nadia was talking about, and if I was correct, the alleyways here connected. There should be a maze of alleyways that led from here to the shoe store in Caen.

I raced through the labyrinth of burgundy-bricked buildings, my feet hitting the rough concrete with a quick, even pattern, steadier than any skilled drummer could hope for. This new life had brought me a great sense of rhythm and balance. I never felt anything but graceful now.

I glanced up at the sign that was glowing neon green on the back of a big building. If I was right then I should be coming up to the shoe store very soon. I slowed my speed to a brisk walk. Two more stores and I'd be there.

Poor Nadia, I'd started to really care about her. She was so strong and controlled on the surface, but it was easy to tell that she was frightened inside. Her actions and her words were all perfectly thought out, and she was careful in all of our phone calls, making sure this wouldn't put me in _too_ much danger. She didn't want to do anything to hurt me, and the way she spoke, revealing only as much as I needed to know, made that clear. All of the emotions she let show screamed _"I'm unworthy."_

She reminded me of Edward.

I was approaching the back of the shoe store, taking a breath so I could call for Nadia, when I caught a scent. A vampire scent.

_No! No! This is not good! _I thought.

Acting on instinct I crouched, all of my muscles tensing, venom pooling in my mouth. When I was changed the flight instinct went away. All that was left was fight, and that wasn't always the best idea.

My mind quickly caught up with my actions and I took a second to think. The safest place for me now was inside the store, where there would be at least one human witness. I doubt the Volturi would think it was worth it. I wasn't the one they were looking for.

I could only hope Nadia had gotten away. If they had her, it was too late, and I'd have a better result if I just went back home and told them I lost her. There was no hope in a vampire and a shape shifter against the Volturi. It was impossible.

I dashed around the building, and through the front door. The salesgirl glanced up from the register at the front of the small store, murmured something irritably in French, and then, with a heavy accent, said, "Hello ma'am, what can I do for you?" Before she looked back down at the phone she was busily tapping away at.

Her fake nails made an agonizing click sound as she continued to text on her phone, almost as bad as a clock's ticking. I decided I would act normal and look at shoes. I walked, exaggerating the slow, sluggish movement I made as I lazily turned into an aisle. I recognized most of the pairs as knockoffs of ones Alice had already bought for me. I found one pair of heels that were neon green, with a subtle hint of a stain on the bottom, made of fake leather. To calm my nerves, I imagined what Alice's reaction would be if I came home wearing those. She'd be absolutely horrified. I let out a giggle, and then became solemn as I heard the door to the store open softly.

This person was too quiet. It had to be one of them. A gust of wind burst into the store, carrying their scent, confirming my suspicions.

I sped to the front door, resisting the urge to snarl. That wouldn't really keep the salesgirl calm. I glared, crouched, ready to spring on whoever was in the doorway, and then the face I saw staring at me caught me off-guard.

I'd seen this face; Edward had sketched it from a picture in Seth's head. Only the picture had been different. That girl's features were more prominent here, her beauty more pronounced. The skin that was supposed to be a light tan color was now that unhealthy shade of white that I was accustomed to.

She was perfectly still, not moving at all. No heartbeat, no breathing, she didn't move anywhere. She looked like a statue.

Her long, wavy mahogany hair went down to her waist, caressing the curves of her face. The color was a strange yet flattering against her porcelain skin, and her deep brown shorts and tank top covered a body that would be the envy of anyone but Rosalie. She looked very strong, not in a masculine way, but in a beautiful way. Her long muscles reminded me of a dancer's body. I looked down to see that she had no shoes, and her feet were dirty. I noticed every detail about her body; how her fingers were thin and long, how her full red lips looked beautiful in contrast to her pale skin, how her chin was shaped, all because I was dreading the thing I hadn't yet seen.

I cringed, finally allowing my eyes to meet hers. They surprised me. With what she was now, I would think she'd have the eyes. Her eyes were a hazel color, far from red.

That wasn't what stuck out to me the most. Her eyes were sad. With every time I glanced at her eyes, she looked stricken, as if the fact that she looked strange to me hurt her deeply, or maybe it was just because of what she was, because of what she'd been turned into.

But that still didn't change what she was.

She wasn't a shape shifter. She was a vampire.

"Nadia? How…" I started incredulously.

"Bella? I'll tell you on the way. We need to get going."

I was able to make my frozen limbs move enough to step out of the shoe store. For the first time since I changed, I think I felt remotely dizzy. Not physically, but my confusion was so intense that my mind felt like it was running in circles. My face must've looked crazed. It was beyond weird. How could this happen?

We stepped around the store, into the shadows on the left side of the building in front of the dumpster. The sun was still brightly shining, and our skin was very exposed. She darted quickly, in the unmistakable movements of a young vampire, and stood like a statue in front of the dumpster, staring at me. Her eyes were the only things that were moving.

"What…" I started. I couldn't describe how _wrong_ this was; especially to me. I'd spent the past eight years terrified that Rosalie would get so mad at Jake, or another one of the wolves that she'd bite them; her venom poisoning their system, and kill them. Our venom killed them. It was poison. Yet here Nadia stood.

"Aro," she said, the word coming out as a hiss, her voice saturated with hate and resentment. "Explained it. He said that my mother was half vampire half human, and that the human and vampire half of me was more dominant than my shape shifter half. They thought they'd killed me, but I survived. And now I am what I am."

The last sentence was filled with such acid, such a passionate hate, that I almost flinched away from it.

"I don't have anything against you, you've done good things and your family is really nice from what I can tell, but it's barred me from a future I wanted badly, one that was right in my reach," she said, wistfully.

"You should talk with Rosalie once we get to Forks, she feels the same way."

"What about you? Why are you a vampire? Why did this happen to you?" she asked, desperately trying to get the subject off of herself.

"Let's run this way. I'm not shielding you, so we'll lead them to Paris. Demetri will tell them that's where we are, and so maybe they'll keep moving in that direction even when we turn around," I said, evading the question until I had time to talk without a halt for a while. That was a hard question to answer.

"What do we do then, where are we going?"

"We're going to turn around and go to Wimereux, and then we're going to find a way to get to England so we can get to the Heathrow Airport."

"So, how did you become a vampire?" she asked, true curiosity in her voice mixed with evasion. I had a feeling she wasn't ready to explain everything.

"That's a long, awesome, confusing, crazy story. Are you ready to listen for a while?"

"I'm game," she said.

"Well…" I wasn't sure how to do this. My own story had been confusing to me. It was hard to explain it adequately without detail, so I took a deep breath, and began to tell Nadia my convoluted story as we sped off into the bright light of the late afternoon.

"It all starts with Edward." Oh, Edward. The fuzzy hazy pictures of my human mind appeared, gazing at him in a grey sweater, looking at him from a hospital bed, his eyes as I walked down the stairs for him to take me to prom. It didn't just start with him, it _was_ him.

"My first day at Forks High school was a remotely uneventful one for a new student. No pranks, no teasing. I was very shy, but for me, that was the most important day of my life.

"That day, I had biology with Edward. We were partners. He, though I didn't know it, had to deal with the most mouthwatering blood ever. You know the thirst you feel right now? Yours is nothing compared to what he had to deal with."

"Oh, I don't have thirst," Nadia informed me.

"What? How is that possible?" I said, my eyes huge, and my jaw hanging open.

"Aro," she said, growling the word, her hand clenched into fists, pulsing back and forth as we ran. "explained it to me, but it's only a theory. They tried to force-feed me." She shuddered. "It was terrible; all of those innocent, helpless people. They brought them all in and cut their throats… the pain and fear on their faces was awful. Then they…"

"I don't need to know any more than that," I said. My vision was taking on an orange tint. People like I had been, defenseless, with families and dreams, that had been murdered by the Volturi. It made me angry.

I heard her breathing stutter, and so I looked at her.

Her face was crumpled and her hands now were limp. Her shoulders hunched over like someone had punched her in the chest. A desperate gasp for air escaped her lips, and then she continued to speak.

"Are… are the wolves okay? Sam, Jacob, Embry, Leah…" she gulped, taking in a ragged breath. "Seth? Is Seth okay?"

Her voice held such a passion, my heart went out to her completely. She said Seth's name like I said Edwards. He was all that mattered. I'd bet he was the future she had to give up.

The feeling was mutual, I realized with a gasp. She loved Seth, too.

"What?"

"They're all fine." I reassured her.

"Are you sure? They aren't coming here are they? I wouldn't want them in danger."

I had a feeling we weren't talking about the pack anymore. This was a Seth thing.

"They're fine. They'll be waiting for us at the reservation."

"Good. Why don't you continue with your story? Your scent was really powerful to Edward, you guys had to be biology partners, and?"

"Throughout the entire lesson he glared at me furiously, and I was shocked and offended. I was frustrated. How could he hate me if we'd only just met? Why was he acting that way?

"Edward went to the clan of vampires, good ones like us, in Denali for a while. He was running away from my scent, and his family was hurt. He convinced himself to come back. He thought he was strong enough.

"So he came back, and spoke with me, asked me questions. I remember being annoyed. I was irritated at how much he wanted to know, how right he was about me. It really frustrated me. I grew really mad at him, but I found myself looking forward to seeing him.

"Of course, then my bad luck kicked in and a van almost crushed me against my truck. Edward stopped the van in front of my very eyes with his bare hands, and then I was sure. Edward Cullen was not human. He was something more.

"Then he started ignoring me. He just avoided me, because I asked him demandingly for answers. I know now that he was probably doing that for my benefit. At the time I was very upset and angry. He'd saved me, and then acted like I didn't exist. It was maddening. He would occasionally talk to me, but then I'd snub him, and ask for answers again, so he didn't talk to me after that.

"Then, one day he just walked up and started talking. His words were "I'm not strong enough to stay away from you anymore."

"I went to La Push, and met Jacob when I went to First Beach with my friends, and there he told me about the cold ones. He used the Cullen's name, and I knew I'd found what Edward was, even though I wouldn't let myself think about it, even though I wanted to deny it.

"But I knew that it was true as I thought about it. It all fit perfectly. Then came the important question. What would I do if I were right?

"As I thought of staying away from him, I was almost crippled with the stabbing despair that gripped me. I couldn't live without him; so I would stick around, even if I got killed in the process.

"Edward found out I knew, and I told him I also knew he could read minds, and we grew closer. Everyday I felt more and more happiness when I saw his face, more and more longing when I wasn't with him. It became obvious to me that I loved him, and eventually, to my disbelief, he said that he loved me too."

I told her everything. I told Nadia about James, Victoria, the wolves. I told her about those dark days when I was haunted with loss, eager to confide in her. She didn't even think it was strange when I told her I jumped off a cliff to hear Edward's voice. She sighed in envy as I told her in detail about my wedding, about how wonderful it was to hold my daughter for the first time, about how I felt every time Edward touched me. The only time I felt awkward telling this to her was when I explained breaking Seth's collarbone. Her teeth wrenched together, and all of her muscles tensed. She shivered violently, and then apologized.

When she started talking about Seth it all started spilling out. She wanted so badly to talk to someone about it. She ran fast for a vampire, maybe because of the wolf half, and as she ran, her voice went double time. It was very natural, and raw, the way she spoke of him. Her voice rang with the sincerity of every word.

"Seth is just so… innocent. He's so forgiving and so vulnerable. I just… I can't hear about him getting hurt without having some kind of a reaction. I've only met him once, but I can just tell, you know? It's so easy to tell who they are, and with him it was even easier. It's like I've known him my whole life. Just, the way he regards everyone. You know that he'd give his own life up for any of his pack brothers, and then the way he looks at me, just the sense of being wanted, and loved, like nothing I could ever have. I know that he didn't feel that most likely, but his eyes made me feel that way, even when I was depressed and confused, his eyes… looking at him … go on. Sorry, I'm babbling."

The pain returned to her eyes as she thought of Seth, the future she couldn't have, and the love she'd been barred from. I took a deep breath, and continued on with telling about the crazy months after Ness was born.

I told her about the Volturi coming, about how fast Nessie developed, how concerned we were about her only lasting a few years. I told her about Charlie, about our visitors. When I spoke of the battle, she growled a little, but other than that she was silent the entire way to Paris, nodding, and smiling. She seemed very engrossed in the story I was telling.

When we got into town, I decided that we would sit down for a little while to plan our next move. I walked up to a little café and saw that it was nearly full of customers, only one empty table. Nadia guessed what I was thinking, and we walked in quickly to claim our spot. They wouldn't be able to approach us around this many humans.

We sat down, telling the waiters that we were waiting for someone, and that we'd eat when they got there, to buy us some free time.

As we sat down I stretched my now easy to mold shield around Nadia and she looked strangely at me.

"Are you shielding me now?"

"Yes, how do you know?" How could she know? Did something on my face give it away?

"I… I think I felt it."

"Nadia, do you have a gift?"

"I magnify the gifts of others when I touch them. I _guess_ that would make me sensitive to it. I don't know. Aro did a few tests. You do _not_ want to know what happens when I magnify Jane," she said with wide eyes and gritted teeth.

I was pretty sure she was right.

We sat there for a while, faking impatient looks, and glancing at the clock on the wall whenever our waiter looked at us. She explained the tests that Aro did on her powers, the pain she went through when she touched Jane. She explained her fear of touching Aro's hand in a fast, quiet voice.

"He hears all the thoughts you've ever had, right? So what if when I touched him he heard all the thoughts I'd ever had, and all the thoughts I ever would have? That's almost as bad as him having that physic of yours, Alice, right?"

"Yes. Alice."

Both of our heads flashed to the door, as it opened with a jingle.

There, in the doorway, stood Aro.

I froze, and choked back the snarl that threatened to erupt from my throat. It was still a muted growl in my chest, and both Nadia and I cringed, waiting for him to turn to us.

But, he scanned the entire place, carefully looking at every table, including ours, and still had a defeated look on his face.

I looked at Nadia, and grinned from ear to ear. _He can't see us! Or hear us! This is so cool! I can't wait to see how she affects Edward, or Jasper… Oh. My. Gosh. Alice is so going to freak out. I wonder what she'll do to her…_

"This is so cool!" I said.

Nadia stared open-mouthed at Aro, fear and anger evident in her expression. Jane, Felix, Demetri, and Marcus walked into the café, all in common clothing, scanning the place like Aro did. Jane let a quiet growl escape through her teeth.

"Their scent led right here! Demetri, are you sure you didn't mislead us…"

Demetri cut her off saying, "No. They have to be here! Where could they be?"

I giggled to myself as Felix moved to face Demetri. Since none of them were looking, I picked up a napkin, balled it up, and threw it at the back of Felix's head.

He glanced around, and then rolled his eyes, muttering something about humans.

"They have to be here! WHERE could they be hiding!" Jane exclaimed, furious.

The crease in between Aro's eyebrows smoothed and understanding crossed his face.

"They are here," Aro said. "Nadia magnifies powers. Bella's a shield. They're here somewhere."

I cringed as he guessed right.

"We should leave soon…" Nadia said to me.

"What do we do now?" Felix asked.

"Start looking for an empty table," Aro answered, his eyes fixing on the table we were sitting at.

"Time to leave!" I exclaimed, as Nadia and I walked to the door, brushing right by them. We were so close that as Jane exhaled the breath she had been holding in irritation, I actually felt it. I couldn't help myself. I laughed as we exited the door.

The bell on the door jingled as we stepped happily out the door.

Aro's eyes fixed on the door full of panic.

"Get them!"

**Sorry for the cliffy. If you guys want me to be nice to you, then review! Anonymous reviews are welcome you DO NOT have to have a Fanfiction account to review my story. Just type in a name for me to see like "I'm reviewing now" or "no more cliffies" okay??? Okay. Happiness all around. Love you guys!**


	11. Chap 10 Bittersweet

**Hello, remember where we left off with Billy two chapters ago? If you don't then go to the end of chapter eight to find out, because this chapter won't make sense if you don't know.**

**Disclaimer: Woah, woah, woah. Don't even go there folks. You know the drill. I own nothing Twilight or Twilightish. I no owny.  
**

EDWARD CULLEN

For the fifth time this night, I heard Alice's high pitched voice, screeching a list of profanities at Jasper, her words slurred together as if she was drunk because of how much calm Jasper was giving her. I couldn't imagine how bad it would be if Jasper wasn't here.

She _really_ didn't handle not being able to see the Volturi very well, and, worse, Bella had disappeared too, about 30 minutes ago.

When I really thought about it, I didn't handle it well either… the only reason all three of them would be invisible was because both the Volturi and Bella were very close to Nadia. I would wait until the time Bella said she would check in until I freaked out. Bella and Nadia were probably trying to shake them. Nadia could be with the Volturi, and then on the other side of the country within an hour. I wasn't going to worry.

Until I glanced at the clock.

Bella was supposed to be with her an hour ago.

I inhaled, as if about to yell, but then stopped. She had called me earlier today. She had her cell phone with her. I would call her. Surely, she'd answer and say that they were a bit off-schedule, or that they were still shaking the Volturi off their tail. Nothing to worry about, right?

Even still, this all felt very wrong.

Jake walked in with Nessie on his arm; they were whispering "I love you"s in each other's ears, as if I couldn't hear them. It had become a normal thing for them to do this.

Ness's eyes widened as she caught sight of me, and she gasped a little, before looking absolutely furious.

_Dad! Dad! Are you okay? What's wrong? Did mom call? Is she in trouble? If they hurt her I swear I'm going to go over there and rip their throats out and then…_

"I'm fine! I haven't heard anything definite, I'm just freaking out for no reason, and I'm going to call her now," I cut her off in the middle of her sentence. I didn't want to see what my daughter had in mind for the Volturi. I was fine with anyone else fantasizing about torturing them, heck, I might even join in, but Nessie? No way. Thinking about them and my daughter anywhere near each other again made my head spin.

_Dang, Ness! You have a good grip! _Jacob thought as he peeled Nessie's clenched hand off his forearm. _Man, that hurt! _

I opened my cell phone and punched in Bella's number quickly as they watched me, listening to the ringing on the line. _One, two, three times. Why doesn't she pick up already?_ Bella always picked up her phone on the first ring, especially when she knew it was me.

The ringing stopped halfway through ring number four, and I started babbling gratefully into the phone.

"Oh, I'm so glad you picked up, love. I was so worried that something bad happened to you. Alice can't see the Volturi and… Bella?" I said, confusedly, because I was pretty sure she would have said something by now, if not an "I'm fine," at least a "Hi Edward".

"Hello Edward."

I froze.

_Oh. No. Oh no. OH NO. OH NO!!!! No, no, no, no, no. Say something Edward, say something._

"Hello," I said. _Genius, Edward. That's definitely going to get us out of this mess._

"Since you're not speaking to Bella right now, I assume you know what's happened."

_This is not good. This is not good. Bella! No!_

"Did you hear me, Edward?"

"Yes, Aro."

All of a sudden six sets of eyes were staring furiously at the phone in my hands. Carlisle and Esme were out right now, but the rest of the family was in, and not pleased at all.

_Crap,_ Emmett thought.

"You must understand, Edward, that Bella's interference in this situation leaves my hands tied."

I did not have the willpower to answer. Nothing I could say could stop this. _Oh Bella, I can't let them do this to you!_

"I would suggest that you and your family come to Volterra in the next forty-eight hours if you wish to have any chance at influencing the consequences Bella must face."

"No. We need more time, Aro." My voice sounded small and choked, like the voice of a frightened child. I was frozen, only using the few muscles in my face it took to speak.

"I'll have a hard enough time explaining the forty-eight hours that I gave you. As I said, my hands are tied."

"Rosalie, can you call the airport for me?" I asked lifelessly, not bothering to pull the phone away from my face. I couldn't feel my hands.

"Very good... And Edward, bring Alice," he said, the words sounding very menacing, almost like a threat. I was about to respond, when the line went dead.

_Click._

"Rose, you talking to the airlines yet?" I asked, my face frozen.

She nodded to me, her look full of pity.

Rosalie pitied me.

I really wasn't that bad was I?

I looked up to meet the concerned gazes of my family, and a wave of serenity.

It didn't affect me at all. Yes. Yes I was that bad. I needed guidance. I could think of only one person who could provide that for me right now.

"I'm calling Carlisle."

*~*~*~*~*

CARLISLE CULLEN

"Are you hungry, Billy?" Esme asked as she smoothed Billy's blankets. She'd grown fond of the man in the two days we'd been taking care of him, always trying to cook for him or clean his house. She felt useless when she wasn't helping someone, and she enjoyed his compliments, and how eager he was to devour her meals. He explained that he hadn't really had a good homemade meal since his wife died.

"Esme, I think if you cook me one more thing, I'll burst. What would that do for my recovery?" he teased with a small smile.

When Esme had first cooked for him he was very hesitant, probably wondering how someone who hadn't eaten food in decades could cook. He had stared suspiciously at the food for a few minutes, sniffing it and poking it experimentally with his fork.

"What's in it?" he asked Esme, his voice coated in distrust.

"Vegetable oil, flour, celery, onions, green pepper, garlic, okra, chicken broth, water, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, bacon, bay leaf, thyme, pepper flakes, shrimp, crabmeat, oysters, and rice," Esme said, reciting the ingredients easily without missing a beat.

"Where'd you get it from?" He wasn't as suspicious after hearing what was in it.

"Southern Living," she admitted sheepishly, ducking her head.

He just laughed.

Billy was still cautious around me, though. His movements were always slow and minute, his breaths strictly controlled, and his words careful. I still had to earn his trust, I could see that, but Esme had opened a door that I couldn't even find by fussing over him like this, and I thought that would make it easier to get him to open up to me.

"Carlisle," Billy said, bringing me back to the present time. "you and Esme shouldn't be here all the time trying to take care of me. I'm sure you miss your family, why don't you go see them?"

I tried to focus on his heart monitor, realizing that I was causing him to worry. I was relieved that he didn't know I was worried about him, though. I had a feeling he wouldn't like that.

"Carlisle."

"Yes, Billy?"

"I want you to hold on to this for me," he said, handing me a small envelope. It was very thick, holding many sheets of paper.

"What's this?"

"My last wishes, it's to the council. I want you to hold on to it for safe keeping."

"I don't understand," I said, my voice shocked. Why did Billy want _me_ to have this? "Why don't you give it to one of the council members? Why me?"

"Because I trust you." He placed a hand over top of mine on the envelope. The gesture took me by suprise, but I felt the smile overtake the look of confusion on my face.

"I still don't understand why you wouldn't give it to one of the council members..."

Billy smiled, and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by my phone ringing. I pulled it from my pocket, looking at the caller I.D.

Edward.

I flipped open the phone. "Hello?"

"Carlisle." Edward's voice sounded panicked. The smile left my face immediately. "The Volturi have Bella."

"What? How do you know?"

"I called Bella's phone and Aro answered. You have to come home. We have to go! We have to go get her now, Carlisle! What if..."

"Edward," I interrupted. I could tell he was losing it. I needed to calm him down before he snapped. "Bella's a very resourceful girl. Have some faith in your wife."

*~*~*~*~*

BELLA CULLEN

"Crap, Edward must be freaking out!" I yelled, exasperated. Nadia nodded once again, waiting for my angry rant to be over with.

"We had lost them! We were standing there and they couldn't find us until _I_ butterfingered my stupid phone and dropped it out of our shield! Wasn't immortality supposed to take _away _my clumsiness! Ugh! And now ARO is in possession of my phone! Who knows what he could be telling them! Poor Edward doesn't know any better than to overreact! And then…. Ugh!"

Nadia looked at me, exasperated. "You know what Bella…. Put your hand on my shoulder."

I gave her a confused look, but did as she asked.

She walked over to a woman in the used car lot we were standing in, completely invisible to her because of our powers combined, reached in her purse, and took her cell phone.

Raising her eyebrow at me, she held the cell phone flat on her hand, offering it to me. "Call him."

My mouth hung open in an "oh," as I slowly took the phone from her hand.

_Duh!_

"Thanks," I whispered, dialing Edward's number carefully, trying not to break the cell phone in my eager grip.

"Don't mention it."

Edward's phone rang only once before his distressed voice spat out a hello, confirming all my suspicions about what Aro would do with my cell phone.

"Edward, are you okay?"

"Bella?" he asked incredulously. "How did you get to a phone? We're coming to get you, just stay out of trouble, you have to get back there now!"

"Edward, I don't know what Aro told you, but Nadia and I are both safe, and far away from the Volturi. We're stealing a car, we just got back from swimming the English Channel, and we're headed to Heathrow."

"How did he get your phone?" Oh, Edward, I'd rather you not ask that question.

"That's a long story that I don't have time to tell right now, Edward. Nadia and I are kind of busy picking a car from the used car lot."

"You're renting a car?"

"No! Of course not silly! We're stealing one!"

Edward's chuckle could barely be heard under Emmett's booming laugh.

"Bella stealing a car? Now that's something I've got to see." I could hear Emmett's remark easily, even though he was probably on the other side of the room.

"Shut up," I said.

"Shutting," was Emmett's amused reaction. I rarely acted in charge, so when I did it was hilarious to him.

"Anyways, we have the car right in front of us, I'd better go. I want to save the battery for emergency calls."

"Be safe," he said, his voice dropping. I wanted to touch him, my hand grasping at the air in front of me before I could think about it. I dropped my hand, and immediately felt lonely.

"I miss you," I said.

"I miss you, too. But you have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

"I'll see you then."

"I love you Bella," he said, the worry returning to his voice.

"I love you too, Edward. I'll be fine. See you tomorrow." I needed to hear him happy, or hopeful, or anything but distressed, before I hung up. The note he left me on would govern my mood, and I didn't think I could make it if I was sad, dealing with Nadia's depression, and running from the Volturi at the same time. That's a lot to deal with

"See you then."

_Click._

I sighed.

I turned around, slipping the phone into my pocket and looked up.

"Bella..." Nadia said nervously, her forehead creased and her eyes full of pain.

*~*~*~*~*

NADIA

"Bella..." I started. How was I supposed to say this? Bella, when you fell in love with Edward, was it sudden, and had you only said two words to him? Yeah, right. How could I broach the subject that had been controlling my every thought for months? I didn't know why I couldn't forget this one boy. Was I going insane? I could feel something tugging me toward him. He looked perfect to me. I didn't know him, yet nothing mattered anymore but him. I would face all of the Volturi, standing alone, if it meant it would keep him safe. How could that be?

I was dangerously close to walking out of Bella's shield, just to draw the Volturi near, so we could settle this once and for all. If I went to La Push, I might be able to find him, I'd be able to touch him. He would be right there, in my reach, so close. My heart burned with the thought of how my cold touch would make him flinch away, how my smell would burn his nose, how my unnaturally hard skin would appall him, and how my thirst for blood would drive him away from me. And the worst part; that if he didn't shy away from me, I could kill him. I wasn't safe for him. My control wouldn't ever be good enough to comfort me, because he was too perfect to risk.

And it didn't matter that I was putting them all in danger, it didn't matter that a clan of royal vampires insisted on owning me, it didn't matter that I was thirsty, and it didn't matter that they had killed my mom. My eyes pricked strangely, and I found that my small, useless life was flashing before my eyes. How depressing. An end wasn't coming anytime soon. I had no such luck.

I was in love with the most perfect, sweet, innocent person alive... I could see it in his eyes... and I wasn't a person.

"What, Nadia?" she asked, darting to me in worry.

"How exactly are we going to steal the car?" I chickened out._ Great, Nadia. So now you're a monster, and a wimp. Nice._

Bella wasn't convinced, that was easy enough to see, but she didn't pry, she walked over to the box where the paperwork and the keys were held, and flicked it open with one easy movement of her pointer finger. She reached in and grabbed the keys, hopping into the car, and starting it as we closed our doors.

"That's how," she said, before she stepped on the gas and sped off, navigating easily through the light traffic.

*~*~*~*~*

"Thank you," I said to Bella as she pulled me through the crowd. Edward was supposed to meet us here, so this was probably the last moment alone we'd have.

"For what?"

"For helping me. You didn't have to do that, you know. You risked so much." She had a family, she'd found love, she was happy, and she was willing to put that all at risk to save some girl she didn't even know? Bella was amazing.

"No problem, I'm just glad to help. It's relieving after spending your entire life with people saving you, to have a break and get to save someone else. And I'm happy I came, you're a great person, Nadia, no matter how awful you think you are. Man, you and Edward with your low self esteem issues. Seriously! You two need to talk. Maybe when you see how ridiculous it is for yourself, you'll come to your senses."

I felt a gust of air hit me before an eerily familiar figure was standing right in front of me.

He looked the same as he had in Sam's head; crazy bronze hair, long limbs, perfectly shaped face, all of it, but he looked different in a weird way. As I figured out what he must've been thinking, I realized that his eyes were wide with shock.

"I had the same reaction," Bella said, walking up to take his hand. "But you get over it. She'll explain on the way to the house."

"Okay..." he said, processing that for a minute. "Hi," he said, holding out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Edward."

"Nadia," I said, though he already knew my name. What else was I supposed to do? I shook his hand briefly, trying to keep my grip light. I wasn't sure if I had the newborn strength the Volturi had explained to me, but it was best not to try it out on my friend's husband. My friend. How strange. I'd only known Bella for a few days, but we'd bonded extremely fast. Still, I never had friends, and I never expected my first friend to be a vampire. Not in my wildest dreams.

"We'd better get going," Edward said, guiding Bella by her hand, through the airport, giving her a loving look. I felt a wave of nausea crash through me as I thought about Seth once again. How would he react to what I was? I only hoped he wouldn't attack me, because I would surely die then. I wouldn't defend myself against him, and I would kill anyone who laid so much as a finger on him. Dying at the hands of the man I was in love with was a low blow. It was even worse than having him ignore me altogether. But then, dying, in and of itself wasn't really a bad idea right now. I had nothing to live for anyways. Seth would hate me now. I would turn myself in to the Volturi if I knew they would kill me, but they had other plans. Being a slave for eternity and all that crap. Aro had one of the most twisted minds I'd ever known.

I just hoped that Seth would come to visit me, so I could see his face at least one more time.

*~*~*~*~*

BELLA CULLEN

I opened the front door of the big house, Nadia hidden behind my back, not anticipating the welcoming committee.

All our family, all the wolves, they were all standing in our front room.

I heard Nadia's small gasp, as she saw the people waiting for her.

I allowed Nadia to recover from the shock, then slowly stepped out from in front of her.

The simultaneous gasp that ricocheted off the walls was followed with silence. Everyone in the room froze, with the exact same look of shock on their face, aside from Seth, who looked more like brokenhearted.

They all stood there for a while, trying to understand what they were seeing.

Emmett was the one to break the silence, as always.

"What? How? This isn't possible. What's going on?" he asked Nadia, looking extremely deadly. Her eyes grew huge, and she shrank back from him involuntarily. I didn't blame her. Dopey Emmett, you could swear you wouldn't be scared of in a hundred years, but when he pulled out the scary Emmett act, he could be terrifying.

"Emmett, honey, let's not scare the poor girl," Rosalie said, pulling Emmett back a foot by his ear.

"Sorry," Emmett replied, accompanied by a sheepish grin. "I'm Emmett," he said, holding his hand out to her.

She backed away from it, stepping around him. "I'm Nadia. Nice to meet you?" she said, giving him a small smile, obviously wondering if he had multiple personality disorder or something.

"Come here, Emmett," Esme said, with a scolding look on her face.

"Okay." He looked like a child being punished as he walked to stand by Esme.

The silence began again, as they waited for someone to speak.

Nadia sighed, preparing herself to tell her story for the third time.

*~*~*~*~*

JACOB BLACK

I was furious. They were furious. We were all furious.

How could they? How COULD THEY!!!!! Doing this to Nadia was the worst kind of torture imaginable. Changing and being poisoned at the same time, being enslaved by the very monsters you swore to kill!!!! HOW. COULD. THEY. She was Nadia. Sweet Nadia. Brave Nadia. She had just lost her father, and this is what she gets? MORE pain? I don't think there is a single person in the pack not shaking, not to mention Seth. They didn't just do this to Nadia. They did this to Seth too. She was his imprint. He was left without a clue to drown in his own misery. Who in the world did they think they were?

How could they.

Nadia had just finished telling her story, and was barely holding it together. She kept glancing behind the Cullens, as if she was trying to see us, throughout her entire explanation. Now, as she waited for someone to speak, she walked to us weaving her way through the crowd, finally stopping when she came upon what she was looking for.

Seth.

She stopped five feet away from him, hesitating, her lip quivering as she looked into his eyes.

In a flash, he was right in front of her, holding both her hands. They just stared into each others' eyes for a moment, but the moment was so intimate, so sickly sweet, that I felt intrusive watching them. Yet, at the same time, the moment was so perfect, so right, that I couldn't look away. No one was mad anymore, they just stared at Seth and Nadia, just like I did.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice tender and gentle.

"Of course I'm not okay! Look at me! Can't you see it! What are you asking for!" she said, her words coming out sounding like a broken cry for help.

"No. That's not what I meant. I _know_ that. Are _you _okay?" He put her hand over her quiet heart as he repeated his question, and her expression softened as she saw the real meaning.

"I am now."

Those words should've sounded cheesy to me, but I found myself tugging Nessie into my chest, touched by the love shared between them.

As I scanned the room, I saw everyone's touched Even Emmett looked choked up. It was a two way imprint. They were perfect.

Seth cupped her face in his hands, pulling her towards him.

I threw my head back, as did the rest of the wolves, and as Seth and Nadia shared their first kiss, a howl of bittersweet victory echoed in the night.

**Awwww!!!!! Reviews are better than cheesy Nadia/Seth moments! Please review!!!**


	12. Chap 11 Powers

**Disclaimer: Blah blah blah blah, I do not own all the vampire and werewolves in all their hunky glory.**

**Who saw New Moon and loves it? I did! I so vote Chris Weitz for Breaking Dawn!**

EDWARD CULLEN

"Yes, Aro," I said as dejectedly as I could. "We just landed and should be with you in less that an hour. Goodbye."

I hung up the phone, an amused smile turning up the corners of my lips.

_Who's tricky now?_ I thought smugly to myself as I pulled Bella onto my lap. We'd been calling Aro every hour or so, trying to keep him convinced we were on our way, to buy us more time to plan. I tried as hard as I could not to call him around Nadia though. Whenever his name was mentioned she got stiff and acted angry, but Jasper and I were the only people who saw through it. She was terrified of Aro. She wasn't scared of any of the other members of the Volturi, not Caius, who fed off of violence, or even Jane. She was deathly afraid of Aro, and I couldn't figure out why.

Nadia was a mystery in and of herself, she hadn't told us anything about her past, except for who her father was, and what the Volturi did to her. Her emotions, when she wasn't with Seth – which rarely happened – became clouded, and she would just stare at the wall, or out the window, and think.

Nadia was sitting on the couch opposite of us, with Seth right next to her. She was looking directly at the phone in my hands, an evil smile on her face. Bella hadn't removed Nadia from her shield, so I still couldn't hear her.

"When are you going to tell him?" she questioned, obviously pleased by our trickery.

"Soon. He thinks we're in Italy, it probably won't take him long to figure out we've fooled him, and it wouldn't be… wise… to leave the Volturi angry without an explanation, or at least trying to make peace," I answered.

Nadia made a face.

"Who gets to call them?" Seth asked, staring down at Nadia and his hands.

"I don't know… that's a good question. I would assume it would be me since it all started between Aro and I, but I'm not sure I could handle it with as much… patience and… diplomacy as needed in this situation, especially with the history between us."

"Why doesn't Carlisle talk to Aro?" Bella suggested.

"You know, that's a good idea…" though Carlisle didn't care for getting in fights with his "old friend", he was more just than all of us combined.

I heard Carlisle quietly get up from his desk upstairs.

_Edward, I'm not sure why you think I'd have more patience with Aro than you right now. I believe Aro will come around, but I'm not sure how I'll handle it if he continues to insist on us coming to him. For him to try to trick us like this! To lead us into a trap! After all those years! I shall talk to him if you want me to, but I won't make any promises about my patience. This is personal business._

"She's my mate, Carlisle. I'm all for killing him. I think you are as patient as we'll get."

_Whatever you think is best, son._ He thought, taking his phone from his front pocket, and dialing Bella's old number. The phone only rang once before Aro picked it up.

"He's talking to Aro right now," I said, filling the rest of them in, ignoring their annoyed expressions.

"Hello, Aro. This is Carlisle."

"_Hello Carlisle, my old friend. I am so very sorry about this mix up we're in." _I heard Aro respond through Carlisle's thoughts. Aro sounded sincere to Carlisle, but couldn't fool me.

"Actually, that's what I need to talk to you about. You see…"

"_Such a shame isn't it? I wish your daughter hadn't gotten involved. I had just started to feel right about last time. I'm so very sorry that we've had to step in once again."_

"Well, Aro, I just called to inform you that Bella just walked in our front door, and that Nadia is at home as well," Carlisle said, his voice still warm and friendly.

"_I thought you were in Italy."_ Aro hissed through his teeth.

"We thought you had Bella and Nadia, but it turns out that we were both mistaken."

"_Nadia is ours, and in helping Nadia escape, Bella is also."_

I hissed at that, and Bella squeezed my hand in response.

"It's okay, Edward," she said.

"In what way is Nadia yours?" Carlisle asked.

"_She came and attacked us, her life is forfeit."_

"Aro, I saw what you did to Nadia, and so did many other immortals, and we all agree that she has more than paid the price for the small crime she committed. A crime that cost you nothing."

"_We have the right to deliver punishment as we wish, she attacked _us _on _our_ land. And Bella is ours too. She aided a prison break. I'm sorry Carlisle, but we cannot just ignore this. What would that do to our reputation?"_

"On the other hand, Aro my old friend, please consider the effect on your reputation if you insist that you follow through with your plans. As many others have already heard, Nadia was trying to avenge her mother's _death._ Which _you _caused. She has learned her lesson. I'm afraid we _will _stand to fight with her if you act unjustly."

"_I'm sorry that you felt the need to become so involved, Carlisle, so very sorry."_

There was a very long and uncomfortable pause at that.

Finally, Aro said, _"However, you have given me something to consider. Until next time then. Goodbye." _Then the line went dead.

Carlisle came to stand against the far wall of the living room, where all of us were gathered now. Jacob, Embry, Quil, and Leah had walked in during Carlisle's conversation with Aro, and Seth caught them up.

"I still can't see him. It's blurry," Alice whined.

"Can… can I help?" Nadia smiled and asked, I looked at her, bewildered. Help? Help Alice with her visions?

"You wanted to know how the Volturi got a hold of my cell phone and not me, right? Well here it is," Bella said animatedly. What about her losing her cell phone had her all excited?

"You see, Nadia's special ability is that she magnifies the abilities of others." Bella said as she and Nadia walked to the center of the room. "Don't freak out, Edward," she warned me before Nadia touched her.

Then they were gone.

"What happened!?! Where are they?" I yelled.

"Bella is a shield… they're still here. We just can't see them," Carlisle said with a tone of fascination.

"But I can't even smell them!"

Suddenly, Nadia and Bella were standing in the same place they'd been before. Their smell was back, and they hadn't moved a muscle.

"You guessed right, Carlisle. We were still here," Bella said.

"Nadia? Can you put your hand on Bella again? I want to try something."

"Sure, Carlisle."

They were gone again.

"Does anyone have a…" Carlisle started to ask.

Alice walked up, a camera in her upraised hand.

"Thank you, Alice," he said as he held the camera up in front of his face.

It was quite funny, watching Carlisle try to take a picture of someone who he couldn't see. He widened the frame so the entire room was in his picture. He took the picture, as everyone stared at him incredulously.

He went to the library of photos he'd taken, and Bella and Nadia were there, gazing at the camera curiously as the rest of us looked in their direction.

"You may come back now."

Nadia took her hand off of Bella's shoulder, and Alice skipped up to Nadia.

"Can I try?" she asked excitedly, her face lit up with wonder.

"Now, Alice. You have to consider what kind of affect this could have on you. Your power is different from Bella's. You could easily become too overwhelmed…" Carlisle cautioned Alice.

"I'll try," I offered.

**Sorry about the short chapter, but if you have me on author alert, you will know that I'm writing a new Renesmee story along with this one. It's very good, and I hope you review both of them. Please, it motivates me to write when I get reviews, and I'll probably get chapters out much faster if you do.**

**Really sorry about the long wait, and please, please, please, please, please, please, please review!!!!**


	13. Author's HELLO AGAIN!

Sorry I took a break from FanFiction for a while, had to get back in the swing of things, but I will update soon! New chapter for Orbit on it's way, and

I've just started working on the new chapter for Notes To My Imaginary Friends, so that should be out shortly as well.

Just giving you a heads up, new things to come!


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